Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is exploring the introduction of an additional excise tier for cigarettes, a move intended to provide a legal pathway for certain illegal tobacco products. While economists see potential fiscal benefits, including expanded tax revenue and improved enforcement legitimacy, experts caution that outcomes are not guaranteed. Imanina Eka Dalilah, a senior researcher at Universitas Brawijaya, said that if the new tier simply shifts consumption from higher-taxed legal products to lower-tax brackets, it could cannibalize revenue rather than expand the tax base. She added that law-abiding manufacturers could face new competition from previously illegal producers, creating a moral hazard if past compliance is effectively penalized by regulatory changes. According to Dalilah, the success of the policy hinges on careful design: it should be transitional, tightly regulated, and include safeguards to prevent consumption shifts and revenue erosion, ensuring that compliance is rewarded and illegal actors remain deterred. Without such measures, the excise tier risks becoming a short-term fix that could destabilize the legal tobacco market.
Tag: legalization
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Florida AG Moves to Block Marijuana Legalization from Ballot
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier urged the state Supreme Court to block a new recreational marijuana legalization initiative from reaching the ballot, calling it “fatally flawed,” misleading to voters, and unconstitutional. In a 75-page brief, Uthmeier argued the proposal—backed by Smart & Safe Florida and largely funded by medical cannabis operator Trulieve—violates Florida’s single-subject rule, misrepresents restrictions on public use, and conflicts with federal law under the Controlled Substances Act.
Uthmeier’s position is supported by a coalition of business and anti-drug groups, which contend the initiative would improperly legalize and commercialize cannabis while obligating the state to license federally illegal activity. Opponents say the ballot summary falsely implies a broad ban on public consumption, lacks enforcement mechanisms, and bundles unrelated policy changes—such as advertising limits and business licensing—into a single constitutional amendment.
The legal challenge comes as Smart & Safe Florida races to meet a February 1 deadline to submit nearly 880,000 valid signatures, amid disputes over tens of thousands of signatures invalidated by state officials. The measure follows a similar 2024 proposal that won a majority but failed to clear Florida’s 60% approval threshold. While polling continues to show strong public support for legalization, the Supreme Court’s ruling will determine whether voters get another chance to decide the issue in 2026.
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White House Asked to Reclassify Marijuana
Vapor Voice Archives The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration plans to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, which could have far-reaching implications for American drug policy.
The proposed measure, which is yet to be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, aims to acknowledge the medical benefits of using cannabis and recognize the fact that it is less prone to abuse in comparison to some of the most dangerous drugs in the country and reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug.
However, it does not seek to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.
Five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review confirmed the agency’s move to the AP on Tuesday. The move clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect.
According to the DEA, the following are examples of Schedule I drugs:
- Heroin
- Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
- Cannabis
- Methamphetamine
- Methaqualone (Quaalude)
- Peyote
According to the National Institute for Health, California became the first State to make it illegal to possess cannabis. In the 1930s, the then U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics warned of the increasing abuse of cannabis, and by 1937, 23 States had criminalized possession.
By 1970, the Controlled Substances Act passed, and the Federal government categorized marijuana as a Schedule I substance.
The planned DEA rule change followed an August 2023 recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that DEA reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Any change to the status of marijuana via the DEA rulemaking process would not take effect immediately.