Marijuana Blog

If you are familiar with the name Mieko Hester Perez, it’s likely because of a series of news stories done on her and her autistic son, Joey. Mieko says her son was hostile and literally wasting away before her eyes – until she began feeding him cannabis brownies with a doctor’s recommendation.

Within weeks Joey was alert and gaining weight. Mieko believes cannabis saved her son’s life.

There are some that call it controversial, but what’s controversial about saving a child’s life?

Recently Mieko received the 2012 Evelyn DuPont Community Service Award for her ongoing support for special needs families through her foundation, The Unconventional Foundation for Autism. The award was presented at a dinner at the California Aquatic Therapy & Wellness Center in Long Beach, CA.

Mieko is a mom who stepped up for her son when all his options had run out. That is the essence of being a strong parent. She was willing to do anything to save her son’s life, including fighting through the propaganda about cannabis to find relief for her child. She found more than relief; she gave him his life for a second time.

On Monday a three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal in California upheld the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries and rejected bans imposed by municipalities on dispensaries.

The ruling reverses a preliminary injunction granted to the county by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann Jones in May 2011.  

"Los Angeles County's total, per se nuisance ban against medical marijuana dispensaries directly contradicts the legislature's intent," Justice Robert Mallano wrote in the 19-page unanimous decision.

This ruling, unless overturned by the California Supreme Court, has major implications for medical marijuana patients all over the state. It upholds safe access for those who do not rely solely on growing their own.

"The court of appeal could not have been clearer in expressing that medical marijuana dispensaries are legal under state law, and that municipalities have no right to ban them," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel of the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access. "This landmark decision should have a considerable impact on how the California Supreme Court rules in the various dispensary cases it's currently reviewing."

The ruling also presents a major roadblock in the way of plans to ban dispensaries in the city of Los Angeles, something that affects tens of thousands of patients. On July 24th, the city of Los Angeles is scheduled to vote on a dispensary ban similar to the one enacted by the County; the one just rejected by the court.

The court’s decision will have a major impact on the way officials and politicians in California address the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries, and they will be thinking of other ways to solve whatever “problems” they see with them with something other than outright bans.

The feds continue their crackdown in the CA, but momentum seems to be shifting on a state level back to patients.

Source: http://glendora.patch.com