Madisionian Democracy: The Marijuana Debate
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In the marijuana debate, the key feature of Madisionian democracy is federalism. Federalism is the division of powers between the national government and the states and local governments. Senator Paul mentions the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth Amendment states that any power that is not reserved to the federal government is then a reserved power of the states. Senator Paul thinks that the states should have more power when it comes to laws about drug usage. He says, “I would let Colorado do what the Tenth Amendment says. This power — we were never intended to have crime dealing at the federal level. Crime was supposed to be left to the states.” Governor Christie disagrees and states that he will uphold the laws of the federal government when