Fellow Ents, let's not be hasty.

Barrhum. I'm seeling a lot of anger in here today and last night.

The defeat of Prop 19 is a setback. It's not a coup de gras to the movement by any means; I think that a lot of good will come from this. Consider: We've proven that many Californians want cannabis legalized, we've kickstarted a national conversation on legalization, and we've also proven that cannabis users and supporters can legitimately and seriously organize for a political cause.

I think that last night's loss should really be a big kick in the pants to all of us. In 2012 we'll have an even better cannabis legalization bill. We need to get up, we need to continue hammering away at the prejudice and misinformation out there, and keep our focus on the goal of full cannabis legalization. 46% Yes is a huge number of people, many of whom do not smoke, and even with an abysmally low young voter turnout, we did very, very well.

So don't be sad or upset or angry. Get motivated, get involved in the movement; if you take the cause seriously then there's no time to waste. We need to start now. In defeat is opportunity; legalization is going to happen! It might not happen on the timetable we were hoping for, but just remember that there is always a silver lining.