Dear Fellow Reformer,

Greetings. My name is Angel Raich. Since you're a supporter of the Drug Policy Alliance and ending our nation's "war on drugs," you may have heard of me.

In 2002, my name was launched into the spotlight when Diane Monson and I, both seriously ill medical cannabis patients -- along with my two anonymous caregivers who grow and provide medical cannabis to me free of charge -- sued Attorney General John Ashcroft and the federal government. The goal in launching Raich v. Ashcroft was to put an end to the government's cruel and illegal raids on sick people who legally use medical cannabis.

Since we sued the government, the Bush administration has fought us tooth and nail, and has continued to arrest and punish people who use medical cannabis in states where it's legal -- like California, where I live.

Today, more than two years after we filed our lawsuit, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Raich v. Ashcroft. You can read an overview of the case here, and the Alliance's brief on my behalf here.

For me and for thousands of others, this is a life or death issue. I'm very sick -- I suffer from an inoperable brain tumor, a seizure disorder, life-threatening wasting syndrome, severe chronic pain and other documented medical conditions -- but I'll be damned if I'm going to let the federal government prohibit me from improving my health with cannabis. California and 10 other states have laws allowing me to do so. And my doctors and I are convinced that cannabis is the only medicine that is keeping me alive.

As I said earlier in this letter, you may have heard of me. But that was never my aim. All I have ever wanted was to be left alone, to be healthy, to spend time with my husband and children, and to live a life free of fear of arrest or harassment.

I'm grateful that the Drug Policy Alliance, along with other reform groups, has supported me and my case every step of the way, providing everything from legal advice and financial support to court filings on my behalf. In fact, for every dollar you donate to the Alliance today by clicking here, 20 percent of your donation will go directly to my nonprofit, Angel Wings Patient OutReach, Inc., to help defend medical cannabis patients and pay for my Supreme Court case.

But the Alliance isn't just supporting me - it's giving hope to thousands of other medical cannabis patients. Years before my case, the Alliance was instrumental in helping pass California's Proposition 215, a law adopted overwhelmingly by voters in 1996, which gave people like me the right to use medical marijuana under state law.

The Alliance also sued the federal government in the case of Conant v. Walters, which upheld the First Amendment right of doctors to talk about and recommend medical cannabis to patients free from federal government threats or interference. It's because of this case that my doctor, Frank Lucido, can feel free to talk with me openly about my medical cannabis use without risking federal persecution.

Also in California, the Alliance is representing Santa Cruz, seven terminally and chronically ill patients, and the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) in a federal lawsuit that will protect seriously ill patients -- who collectively grow, share and use medical marijuana -- against federal law enforcement interference.

Though the Supreme Court heard my case today, we won't know which way they've decided for at least a few months. That part is uncertain. But win or lose, I can assure you that -- with the generous help of supporters like you -- the Alliance will be working on behalf of me and thousands of other medical cannabis patients.

You can learn more about me and my case at the Alliance website or at my personal website, Angel Justice.

Thank you for your time and generosity.

Yours,

Angel

P.S. Several Alliance staffers got in line at 3 a.m. to hear the oral arguments in my case Monday. You can read their first-person accounts here.