Also add to it the compliance cost of various cigar related laws and problems it has created for otherwise perfectly normal citizens who probably don't even smo

Also add to it the compliance cost of various cigar related laws and problems it has created for otherwise perfectly normal citizens who probably don't even smoke. Case in point is of Eric Garner[1] who got killed by NYC cops because they thought he was selling loose cigarette. This is an extreme case that got media attention but I am pretty sure NY cops harass people all the time for such laws. Everyone on HN probably agrees that marijuana ban has done more harm than good. If total ban is 1 then increasing taxes is probably 0.5 where 0 is totally unregulated. It is a step in wrong direction. And in the form of principle I would argue that it is not government's job to manipulate our opinions and values of life. Almost everyone on HN agrees that Apple should not cave in under FBI pressure. What if government increases tax on iPhones because they are encrypted ? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner#Death