Voters cast ballots last Tuesday for who they wanted to see as the next president, but they also decided on several controversial issues, like recreational marijuana use legalization and marriage equality, in several states. To say the least, last Tuesday was a productive day.

Voters in Colorado and Washington approved referendums to legalize recreational marijuana use. Meanwhile, voters in Washington, Maryland and Maine voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Minnesota voters also rejected an amendment banning same-sex marriage. This marks the first time in American history that voters — rather than the courts and legislatures— have directly said to legalize gay marriage. Although the majority of voters based their decisions on the economy and health care, social issues were still prominent.

Enacting such sweeping federal laws can be difficult to implement and can be met with more hostility and opposition than a state’s passage of such a law. Laws passed by states are more apt to make legislative decisions based more closely on constituent opinion, whereas a federal representative or senator are more likely to make decisions based on personal ideologies and philosophies because their constituencies are so large and diverse.

By keeping the initial legislation on controversial issues like marijuana legalization and marriage equality at the state level, voters and the federal government can use it as somewhat of a case study. States are uniquely equipped to deal with social issues. It’s easier for voters to overturn a measure that doesn’t work. A law’s utility or success can be seen in a more isolated case at the state level than at the federal level, such that if the law fails, its consequence can generally only be felt by the state itself.

But it’s reductive to see states as simply experimental playgrounds for legislation because these laws reflect what the people want — laws are not always passed to be a strong message to the federal government, but they can be.

While it’s great that these states’ vote to make marijuana legal and grant same-sex marriages, the law only reaches as far as the states’ borders. You can’t transport marijuana purchased in Colorado to Wyoming without legal consequence, and same-sex marriage granted in Maine will not be recognized in Utah. The only way that laws like this can cross state lines is if the law is uniform across the country, like it is with the drinking age, or if the federal government enacts the law.

While marijuana still needs more of a trial period to judge its effectiveness, same-sex marriage has been proven to work. The groundwork has been lain, and it’s high time for President Obama to make good on his word that homosexual citizens can marry, be it in Utah, Missouri or New York.

As controversial as these issues are for millions of people for hundreds of reasons, the popularity of making them legal is gaining momentum. They will continue to work their way up the bureaucratic ladder in this country until they reach the national level.

The people in these states are speaking clearly, and now they just need to be heard nationally.