This kind of stuff wouldn’t happen if they’d just legalize it!........uh, wait a sec........................
The problem is that the legalized stuff comes with many restrictions, taxes, and hands in the till. The illegal stuff can be produced and sold cheaper but still at huge profit.
I think the right analogy is to ending prohibition, but finding that moonshine production was popular. Anyways, "Moonshiners" was a fun quasi-reality show to watch, wasn't it?