Statutory Regulation of Hypnosis

Hypnotism and state hypnotists caused quite a stir in the first quarter of the Twentieth Century. Several of the existing statutes on hypnotism were passed at that time. Then, for about a quarter of a century, hypnotism was legislatively forgotten. Recently, pressure groups in the form of hypnotic, psychological, psychiatric and medical societies have been lobbying for legislation prohibiting hypnotism by laymen.

As the hypnotist vote isn't very large, the activities of these pressure groups have been ignored for the most part. Statutes on hypnotism generally seek either to regulate stage hypnotism, the hypnosis of minors, or medical use of hypnotism.