Are they concerned about the profitability and long term viability of the black market? I mean why else would you go out of your way to incentivise people participating in it?

Are you struggling with addiction, the rise of fascism, and a surveillance state? Well we’re here to help by raiding your wallet or making you fund violent criminal organisations.

The government could really fuck up the black market if they were smart about it. How much margin do you have to make in a black market to offset the risk of prosecution? Just do the maths. When you control investigation, enforcement, prosecution and excises you would have to be really stupid to fuck it up like this.