LOUISVILLE, KY – Louisville Metro Council members aim to crack down on businesses that sell drug paraphernalia and aid in sex trafficking with two proposed ordinance amendments. The amendments are expected to be discussed in a public safety committee meeting Wednesday.
Louisville Metro Council President David James said the initial awareness for the issue came from several complaints from citizens regarding businesses such as convenience stores selling drug paraphernalia—including bongs, glass pipes, and other items used for meth and crack cocaine. Many of the businesses selling these items also need licenses to sell alcohol. Thus, the proposed amendment would strengthen the city’s authority to revoke these licenses if any are caught selling these types of items, effectively shutting them down.
“If you live in a community where businesses are selling drug paraphernalia openly, it says a lot about the community you live in and the quality of life that you have around you,” James said. “For the citizens that live [in these areas], it’s really unacceptable for them and they want it stopped.”
It was in the process of drafting the drug paraphernalia amendment, James said, that law enforcement officers brought the issue of sex trafficking within massage parlors to their attention. They reported a resurgence of the issue, with several parlors allegedly using massage services as a smokescreen to traffic women for sex.
“You know, to traffic a person is unacceptable, but to do it in the open and pretend you’re offering massages while you’re trafficking that person is also unacceptable and it takes away from the quality of life of our community,” James said. “These places were being cited for human trafficking and prostitution, however they were not under the city’s nuisance ordinance so it was hard to shut down—even though an arrest had been made.”
As with other businesses selling drug paraphernalia, the proposed amendments would also strengthen the city’s authority to shut down massage parlors that are repeatedly found to be engaging in sex trafficking.
“The target is not the women in the human trafficking, they’re the victims in this whole thing,” James said. “But, by taking away the businesses’ ability to operate and occupy that building, you’re getting closer to the source of the person that’s actually got them into that horrible situation.”
The proposed amendments are expected to be discussed in committee Wednesday afternoon. If approved in committee, they will be brought before the full Louisville Metro Council.
►Contact reporter Rob Harris at rjharris@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@robharristv) and Facebook.