Unfortunately, governments are ignoring the fact that banning and taxing things has not worked well.Well, they have not worked out well for us, but they work out great for governments:
- They make more money
- They increase the prison population, which makes them more money (court fees, fines, asset forfeiture, slave labor, and the list goes on)
Complete agreement with your points, I just think that if you look at the why closely, you will find that almost everything that governments do like this is related to lining their pockets (and those of their friends).
taxation is good for the govt budget, but prisons? I doubt it very much, but of course it can vary from country to country. I've heard the US prison system is very beneficial for some few private corporations, but not for the government as such. It's probably also very beneficial for some corrupt politicians ...