Michael McLaren warns that government “addiction” to high taxes on legal products, like tobacco, inevitably drives consumers back to the black market and fuels organised crime.

While advocates argue that legalising illicit substances will dismantle criminal networks, recent international failures and the thriving black market for heavily taxed tobacco suggest that “regulating” the trade may only exchange one crisis for another.

Listen to more highlights from Afternoons below:

Image Credit: SMH