Raich - so what do we do now?

Well, I've regained my composure and while the outcome, although expected, is still a bitter disappointment to swallow, it's not the end of the world as we know it. In fact, nothing has appreciably changed.

States are still free to legislate on their own and to refuse to prosecute sick people. The decision doesn't compel the feds to persecute the sick, it simply failed to prevent them from doing so. They no doubt will continue on their campaign against society's most vulnerable citizens, but they will have to face a growing public discontent with the policy and that's the silver lining in this. It brings the debate into the public arena in a way we haven't been able to do with ordinary legislation.

The coverage has been astounding. Even, my local TV station made it their rotating national news blurb all morning long and all the media are covering it. Public opinion polls are clearly running well in favor of Raich. And as the decision itself pointed out, Congress is still free to take its own remedial action on the issue.

That's where we come in. The reform organizations are in full gear and all have action centers where you can contact your Congressional representatives quickly and easily - so start here.

Drug Policy Alliance. Send a pre-written letter.
NORML. Get informed and contact your Congressmen.
Marijuana Policy Project. Send an letter.
MPP. Send a letter in support of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment.
Raich Action Center. Organize a protest outside of your Congressmen's local office.

Of course, better than auto-letters are ones you personally compose or phone calls. The DRC action center will help you find the contact info for your legislators. Also with all the press coverage, this will present a great opening for letters to the editor. The prohibitionists in their glee to proclaim victory are bound to give us plenty of opportunities to correct the record. Check the Media awareness Project's link frequently, watching for news clippings with a "Pubdate" of Mon, 06 Jun 2005 or later, to help you find targets for your letters. MAP also has an excellent action center to help you compose your LTEs.

So let's burn up some keyboards folks. The best antidote to a setback like this is to fight back. Let those calls and letters roll.

A few more thoughts posted at The Detroit News.