Mieko Hester Perez “Marijuana Saved My Son’s Life'” coming to Berlin WI T.H.C. Tour
BERLIN, WI: “Marijuana Saved My Son’s Life” Mom Mieko Hester Perez will be a special guest at the T.H.C. Expo (Talking Hemp and Cannabis) at the Berlin (WI) Public Library this Saturday, Feb. 6, from 12pm-3pm. Hester Perez’s story of how she turned to medical cannabis, legal in her home state of California, after her 10 year-old autistic son’s weight plummeted to 48 pounds has been featured on Good Morning America, Fox News and other media. The T.H.C. Expo (Talking Hemp & Cannabis) will be held in the Berlin Public Library, located at 121 W. Park Ave., Berlin.
Not only did cannabis help him eat, but his behavior improved immensely, and she was able to wean him down from 13 to just 3 prescription medications. The T.H.C. Expo will bring the debate over the medical use of cannabis as well as the uses of hemp, a crop once widely cultivated by local farmers, to an area that would like to see legislation covering both medical cannabis and hemp passed this session by state lawmakers.
Joining Mieko Hester Perez at the T.H.C. Expo will be Jacki Rickert, namesake of the Wisconsin Medical Marijuana Act. Also in attendance and scheduled to speak will be Rickert’s colleague with the group Is My Medicine Legal YET? (IMMLY.org), Gary Storck. Wisconsin NORML veep Ben Masel, longtime WI free speech and cannabis activist who is also planning a run for the US Senate in 2012 as a Democrat will also be speaking. Masel will focus on the Berlin area’s rich past history of hemp farming, the history of hemp growing in the state, as well as AB206, a hemp bill before the Legislature this session. His address is sure to be of interest to local farmers looking for a crop like hemp to help them out of the current downtuen. Author, speaker, attorney and former prosecutor James Gierach of Law Enforcement Agaiinst Prohibition (LEAP) will also speak.
Madison NORML Examiner asked Mieko Hester Perez three questions about her visit to Wisconsin and the T.H.C. Expo in Berlin on Saturday:
1) What do you hope to accomplish with your visit to Wisconsin and the T.H.C. Expo?
I hope to bring our story from California, speaking from a mother’s point of view, another credible voice for changing negative public perceptions of MMJ and My unwavering passion & determination to effect changes in State & Federal laws that prohibit the use of MMJ.
2) What do you have to say to Wisconsin parents struggling with a child with autism who would like to be able to treat their child with medical cannabis?
The Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana saved my son’s life. Although Medical Marijuana is not known to be a cure for Autism, It has been proven to facilitate “Life”; it’s given my family and many other families across this great nation “HOPE” and immediate results – when there was no hope. I know first hand what he feels like to hear – You’re child has a few months to live, I was raised pro life and like many parents – we will do anything to keep our children alive.
The alterative treatment of MMJ was my last choice in finding something that would work, but it was my choice and I choose to be responsible and treat it like any other prescribed medication. I never worried about the backlash, my son was the proof to the world – He’s happy, healthy, social and alive! Something we had not seen since he was 16 months and recently Joey started making vocal sounds. Through The Unconventional Foundation for Autism, I vowed to help any parent that reached out to me, “Medical Marijuana saved my son’s life”.
3) If you had a chance to address the state legislature, what 3 things would you stress in trying to get them to passes the Jacki Rickert MMJ Act this session?
The compelling story of survival & the ongoing progress of my 10 year old son
A voice of comfort, reason & experience for young parents of children living with Autism, ADD, ADHD and Anorexia
A credible voice of outreach for Federal research on the progressive & side effects of MMJ vs. other conventional pharmaceutical medications.
To hear more from Mieko Hester Perez, Jacki Rickert, Gary Storck, Ben Masel, James Gierach and more about Medical Cannabis and Hemp in Wisconsin, make your way to Berlin WI this Saturday for the first T.H.C. Expo. Representatives of organizations including Is My Medicine Legal Yet? (IMMLY), M2j Media, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), Madison and WI chapters of NORML, WI ACLU, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and Wisconsin Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access.will all be on hand to answer questions from the public.
