By: Jamie Solis

Joey’s story aired on Good Morning America five years ago, making him one of the first children to represent adolescent medical cannabis patients, who had been otherwise faceless in the mainstream media. Audiences were instantly captivated by Joey, a young boy from Orange County who is diagnosed with having Autism Spectrum Disorder and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. As Joey got older, his symptoms grew more and more severe. Doctors tried what they knew, prescribing him up to 13 medications at one point. At nine years old, Joey weighed only 42 pounds, and his mother was afraid she was going to lose him. After doing some research, Joey’s mom introduced medical cannabis oil infused brownies into Joey’s diet. He immediately gained an appetite, slept easier and started foraging his path to an overall happier life.

It took Joey trying around 15 different strains over the course of numerous years to finally find the best match to alleviate his symptoms. The strain, now called “Joey’s Strain,” comes from Kushman Genetics, and is available at Buds & Roses in Los Angeles. The information regarding the genetics and cannabinoid levels of Joey’s Strain are not available yet. However, we speculate that it may be an indica-dominant strain, because indica-dominants are often prescribed to aid with symptoms of autism, ADD and insomnia. Joey’s mother, Mieko Hester-Perez, has worked with hundreds of families, and each family has found success with cannabis treatment when using Joey’s Strain.

The Woman Behind the Hero

Mieko Hester-Perez, Joey’s mom, is the co-founder of The Unconventional Foundation for Autism (UF4A), and she has been working professionally as a legal secretary since she was 20. Mieko has appeared on countless media outlets, educating the world on how her son’s quality of life has improved with medical cannabis, which in turn has bettered her family’s quality of life as well. This mother of three lives by a motto of paying-it-forward by connecting with families across the country as a consultant who helps them navigate through medical cannabis treatment for their children. Each family receives confidential guidance that is tailored to their child’s needs, and her goal is to protect the families by aiding them in safely moving forward with the treatment while still abiding by laws and regulations.

Since medical cannabis is missing an informational sheet explaining recommended dosages and possible side-effects, Mieko is typically asked by parents how to approach starting a regime of cannabis for their children. She explains some of the type of help she offers, “I teach parents how to introduce new foods when placing their child on cannabis, because most of these children are, like most children, picky eaters.” Kids who are living with autism can be extremely finicky eaters, so Mieko shares how easy it is to offer organic fruits and vegetables to these children utilizing cannabis, “One of the joys of the treatment is when the child does have cannabis, within 10 or 15 minutes you can introduce fruits.”

Mieko often looks around and wonders how she got to this point in her life, where she is now considered an expert in the intersecting worlds of cannabis, special needs, law and legislation. She is extremely grateful for all of the supporters she has met along the way, with one of her fondest memories being the time she and Joey were invited as VIPs to speak at Cypress Hill Smokeout. This was Joey’s first concert, so Mieko holds the memory of this outing especially close to her heart. Sitting backstage before the show, these musical artists were interested in hearing Joey and Mieko’s story. After listening to a little about Joey’s life, B-Real of Cypress Hill were extremely receptive to the cause. Mieko shares, “I thought that these guys, B-Real, gets it. This new generation gets what I’m doing.”

Mieko shares that due to Joey’s fatal muscular dystrophy, he may not be with us for too much longer. This devastating reality along with all the positive support Mieko has gained along the way keeps her motivated to pay-it-forward to other families. When praised for her commitment to helping others, Mieko is very humble in saying, “I feel like Joey has helped more people today than most people help in a lifetime, and I’m very privileged to be a part of it.”

Originally Published by Culture Magazine on Oct. 2, 2014: http://ireadculture.com/article-4574-young-man-diagnosed-with-autism-is-saving-lives-alongside-his-mother.html

Looking Ahead in Santa Ana, Will the Raids Finally End?

BY: Jamie Solis

Two ordinances intent on making the rules

Collectives have continued operating in Santa Ana for the past seven years, despite the city’s ban on Medical Cannabis and Cooperatives. With an unstructured MMJ scene that resembles the “Wild West,” the city council decided to once again take matters into their own hands by instructing the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) to raid 24 targeted dispensaries throughout the city. On July 31, 68 patients, volunteers, employees and owners were detained and transported in an overcrowded, overheating paddy wagon to the Santa Ana City Jail.

Some men and women were sent home that evening after being cited, while others were forced to spend the night in jail before receiving their fines. According to Kandice Hawes, the leader of the OC’s cannabis community, the city was unapologetic for their unjust actions in which many detainees’ rights were violated. It may be a surprise that while the city is instructing massive raids in an attempt to get a handle on the situation, a permanent solution to the problem is just around the corner.

Santa Ana is on the brink of becoming the first city in Orange County to adopt California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996. There are two initiatives on the city’s ballot that are competing to enact provisions for medical cannabis collectives, and the deciding vote will take place on November 4. The first measure is entitled the City of Santa Ana Council-Referred Medical Marijuana Ordinance. It is publicly supported by many city council members, as well as the Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero. Battling against this initiative is the citizen-drafted ordinance, the Santa Ana Medical Cannabis Restriction and Limitation Ordinance. These guidelines were written by Kandice Hawes and her team of activists.

At the front lines of Santa Ana’s MMJ court cases and legal battles since 2007, Hawes and a group of patients, dispensary owners and other citizens formed the Committee to Support Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative with hopes of drafting reasonable regulations and taxes on medical cannabis collectives. Hawes is now the Principal Officer of this committee. She is also the Director of Orange County NORML and the President of CSUF Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Hawes is campaigning hard to secure the popular vote, because she believes the citizens’ guidelines are superior to the city’s.

One of These Bills is Not Like the Other

Patients and employees should be concerned about their privacy if the city ordinance passes. According to Hawes, “They have a requirement that the collective will have to keep a list printed out and in their safe of patient’s names, addresses, phone numbers and government IDs.” Not only are records of patients at-risk, as Hawes pointed out, “They have to disclose all employees and volunteers and what their duties are in the collective, which is a fifth amendment violation.”

Another issue with the city-sponsored measure is that it requires patients to be 21 and over. Hawes explained how this will discriminate against young adults who suffer from PTSD, “Santa Ana has a huge population of veterans, people just returning from the war that are probably between 18 and 21 years old. And those patients aren’t going to be able to access medical marijuana under city law.”

Problems with the city measure that are unique to the dispensaries include zoning issues, restrictions on operating hours and more. According to Hawes, the city-approved locations have already been purchased, largely by non-local and foreign investors. This leaves many businesses at a loss if the city’s initiative gains the majority vote.

The greatest concern with the city ordinance is that it would give the city council sole authority in amending or repealing the bill. In Hawes’ words, “Usually a council ordinance would still have to be amended by a vote of the citizens, but they reserved this special unique power to change it, so they can change anything about the whole bill at a city council meeting.” Allowing the council this ultimate power could potentially undo the years of hard work it has taken to finally regulate Santa Ana’s medical cannabis collectives.

If you’re interested in aiding the Committee to Support Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative, visit www.santaanamj.com.

Originally Published by Culture Magazine on Sept. 9, 2014: http://ireadculture.com/article-4408-looking-ahead-in-santa-ana-will-the-raids-finally-end-.html