KALAMAZOO, MI – Listening to Mieko Hester-Perez talk about her day is probably the one of the most exciting things about mine. You may not tell from looking at her, but she is Wonder Woman personified. Â Mieko is a mother of three that until recently, felt hopeless and didn’t know where to turn. Â Along with her husband Eric, there is never a dull moment in their house. That is probably the case for most families of five but this family is different.
Meiko’s son Joey was diagnosed with severe autism (unable to speak) and had been on thirteen different medications by the time he was just ten years old. Â Malnourished and anorexic, Joey had severe organ damage from the various medications his previous doctors had prescribed, Mieko was faced with the only choice she had: SAVE JOEY’S LIFE.
Enter Medical Marijuana.
Mieko Hester-Perez, 420 University President William Beaton (Center), and James Gierach (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition)
Having an endogenous cannabinoid system and knowing, and trusting the science that is abundantly available on the subject, was the essential key to understanding how Mieko was going to get her Joey back. Â Having the support of Dr. Lester Grinspoon, one of the foremost researchers on the subject, has been a huge source of strength for her entire family and it was in Michigan that she shared her full story with an audience for the first time.
She is one of several speakers that made up The Science and Compassionate Care Seminar put on by 420 University held in Kalamazoo, Michigan July 10-11. Â Having a solution via science to the ongoing debate regarding cannabis therapeutics, some in several states later in the year, is the most important part of the foundation of this debate.
As she tells the crowd in Kalamazoo how Joey’s first 10 years of his life were, and how as a parent she hasn’t felt more hope for her son than she does right now, I can’t help but wonder if she knows the magnitude of her statements, and how she can help mobilize mothers like her who have never seen their children come out of their shell until the proper cannabinoids hit their system. Â Mieko is “on the side of life” and she points out, “it’s not a miracle, it’s science.”
“It’s not a miracle, it’s science”
– Mieko Hester-Perez, The Unconventional Foundation for Autism
Our body has an Endogenous Cannabinoid System(ECS) and when our body attempts to heal a particular part of itself, it is this endocannabinoid system that helps achieve this healing. Â We know that with this system, more science (and there are over 80,000 papers on this to date) will reveal an even greater understanding of our body’s own healing process and how our ECS can benefit from outside cannabinoid, either through the plant matter or through isolated cannabinoids and the discovery of various intake methods.
Dr. Robert Melamede, Ph.D. speaks with local media about the importance of cannabinoids and our own ECS. His lecture at the Science and Compassionate Care Seminar had audiences worldwide on the edge of their seats as they listened to him explain the very essence of our ECS is the constant shifting in the body's attempts to reach homeostasis.
One doctor who is leading the way on this is Dr. Robert Melamede, PhD. Â Based out of Colorado, his company Cannabis Science (NASD OTCBB:CBIS), is not only keeping track of all of the science coming out from all over the world, but is doing a bit of his own.
Other speakers throughout the two-day event included Julie Falco, who has suffered from MS for more than 20 years and lives in a non-compassionate state where clinical cannabis consumption is illegal.
She has never gotten into trouble for consuming her medicine and wants everyone to know, so naturally she now serves as a board member of the Illinois Drug Education and Legislative Reform and testified at the state’s Human Services Committee hearing.
She consumes medical cannabis in brownie form and says it has no psychoactive effect on her (a very common statement from people who use medical marijuana to treat symptoms from various conditions, including pain management).
“It’s a completely different feeling. Â The high for me is feeling pain relief throughout my body.”
Julie Falco, MS Patient and Patient Advocate
Multiple Sclerosis patient and medical marijuana patient advocate Julie Falco speaking to a global audience at 420 University's Science and Compassionate Care Seminar in Kalamzoo, Michigan this past July.
One of the most intriguing lectures of the weekend came from Dr. William L. Courtney, who has been juicing the whole plant (which is one more reason calls for research on whole plant matter as well as isolated cannabinoids are so loud) and finding incredible data on certain cannabinoids levels and results to back them up.
Dr. Courtney’s findings include insight into how juicing whole cannabis plants while they are growing allows the plant’s truest potential for cannabinoid intake to be met without heating the plant which turns THC into a non-psychoactive form, which reduces the efficacy of the plant.
“The hardest part is convincing patients to cut the flowers from the plants they are growing, but by the time I see them their condition leaves them with fewer convincing reasons to warrant neglect of the most effective form of cannabis therapeutic treatment.”
Showing patients first-hand how much they are missing when they don't juice the plant matter convinced many in the audience, including me, to start speaking out on the value of the entire plant and the missed medicinal benefits from excluding this particular form of treatment.
I drink a juice everyday that I blend myself so I know how costly it can be to have to grow multiple plants at various growth stages in order to ensure a constant supply, which should be sipped in small doses throughout the day.
This was my third time seeing Dr. Courtney speak, the first of which was in Rhode Island for the Ten Anniversary of Patients Out of Time’s National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics. Â At the Science and Compassionate Care Seminar in Michigan, he was able to share several follow ups to some case studies, including his own wife Kristen Peskuski, who also lectured at the seminar in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
William Beaton, President and CEO of 420 University, was also in Rhode Island and saw both Dr. Melamede and Dr. Courtney speak at the clinical conference and made sure they were both available for this event.
“In addition to highlighting an incredible depth of knowledge from our industry’s leading professionals and advocates… we are making history and uniting for the sake of science, compassion, health, and sensible policy.” – William Beaton, 420 University President
One of the most well-renowned cultivators in the world, Jorge Cervantes, was also in attendance. Â This was the first time he was able to reveal his identity to the public in more than 27 years. Â His is the author of more than 25 books in 7 languages and was the only person to lecture both days. Â You can learn more about plant growth from his books and videos as well as see more of his lectures live at future 420 University classes.
Jorge Cervantes reveals his identity after 27 years
