I have been invited to give a keynote presentation on the link between sex work and addiction at the 28th Annual WV Addiction Training Institute, sponsored by the West Virginia University Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry. While many sex workers are not addicted to drugs, some are and for those women and men, drug addiction often precedes their involvement in commercial sex. Prostitution becomes a means of securing funds needed to maintain an already established drug habit. Some sex workers also turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope with the work they do. Research shows that laws criminalizing adult prostitution make it harder for sex workers to obtain treatment and protect themselves from physical harm. I will draw on the extensive research I did for my book, Getting Screwed: Sex Workers and the Law, for my 90-minute presentation on June 12 at 1:15 pm at the Addictions Training Institute, which is being held at the Lakeview Resort and Conference Center in Morgantown, WV.
