I have been involved in the massage industry legislation and I have worked with cities looking to control prostitution. As a massage therapist and spa owner, I had to jump through many governmental hoops to earn my legitimate massage establishment permits.

Prior to the 2009 CAMTC regulations, each city created their own code enforcement. It was a nightmare. Cities and police departments treated massage therapists as prostitutes. In 2000-2002 ,I fought hard for the rights of therapists in Fullerton and Buena Park. I worked with these cities to better understand massage therapy and how to eliminate prostitution. I was very vocal and was interviewed by the Orange County Register about our fight for fairness. It took me years to get changes made to the massage ordinances. Now, many of the ideas I suggested have been written into the ordinances.

CAMTC has brought respectability to the massage industry. The new certification is a blessing for those of us with education and are committed to helping people.. However, we could see the writing on the wall… prostitution would become a major problem again. The main problem I saw was the ability to open a spa with few restrictions. Also, there is no competency exam given by the CAMTC to find out if applicants actually attended a recognized school. The CAMTC can not completely eliminate the need for law enforcement. They need to work hand in hand with law enforcement. We dislike what prostitution does to neighborhoods and our industry.

If you feel my experience and views would be interesting to you, feel free to contact me.