Introducing our design celebrating our massively important yet under-appreciated Tenth Amendment. The State by State led movement to legalize cannabis is about the best demonstration we can think of to show how important it is to remember (or learn) that the Federal Government was never supposed to have as much power or control as it does today.
The Tenth Amendment was the last of the original amendments included in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was essentially an add-on to the Constitution limiting the power of the newly formed Federal government of the United States and affirming what rights the individual had that could never be upended by government. The purpose of the Tenth Amendment was to make unambiguous the intentions of our founders the principles of federalism; the Federal Government shall only have power over things specifically outlined in the Constitution. The text reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." So how does this all connect with Cannabis, or "pot", or the "Devil's Lettuce"? It actually does in multiple ways but let's highlight a couple key points here. -The Federal Government effectively (yet unconstitutionally) made Cannabis illegal with the "Marihuana Tax Act of 1937". This has left many around the country wondering how is it then that all these states have gotten away with legalizing cannabis in one form or another? Have you guessed yet? Yep, the TENTH AMENDMENT! -Additionally, this process we are witnessing of state-by-state cannabis legalization highlights one of our system of governments greatest means of democratically creating sound public policy. With a our Federalist system there is this notion that we should have "50 Laboratories of Democracy." With all these state cannabis laws, none of them are at all same. Colorado's is different from Nevada's, is different from California, is different from Illinois, etc. As more States pass laws and more time goes by, each State can learn from each other what was working and wasn't, arriving at best practices. Alternatively, the Federal government could legalize cannabis and create one blanket law for the whole country. And if they get something wrong or special interest influence policy in some corrupting way, it is a near guarantee we are stuck with bad policy for a very long time. Modifying a state law is always easier than Federal law... This my friends are one of many reasons why the Tenth Amendment Matters!
