MARIJUANA ADVOCATES FLOCK TO ANAHEIM EXPO

ANAHEIM - They came to learn about marijuana laws, how to start a
medical dispensary business, what they could do to change the stigma
of the drug.

Inside a cavernous hall at the Anaheim Convention Center, more than
1,000 people gathered Saturday for Orange County's first medical
marijuana convention, an all-day event called the Know Your Rights
Expo.

Attendees swapped stories, perused 120 vendor booths and listened to
talks by medical advocates, political strategists, even a retired
Orange County judge.

The only thing missing was cannabis itself; no medical marijuana was
allowed to be sold at the expo, and no drug use was permitted on the
premises.

"All of the paraphernalia, insurance companies, doctors it's
mainstream; they are not hiding anything," said retired Judge James
Gray, a vocal critic of America's war on drugs and a 20-year veteran
of the Orange County Superior Court. "There is no question marijuana
will be regulated and controlled. It's just a matter of when."

The Orange County expo comes just two months before California voters
will be asked to decide whether the legal sale of medical marijuana
should be regulated and taxed.

Proposition 19, if passed, would give further legitimacy to medical
marijuana use in California and help erode the lingering stigmas
associated with the drug, said Bob Calkin, founder of the Los
Angeles-based California Cannabis Institute, a seminar program that
teaches people how to start medical marijuana businesses.

"We're at the tip of the iceberg; we're defining now how the industry
is going to unroll," said Calkin, as he manned his booth at Saturday's
expo. "If Prop. 19 passes, more people will want it and feel
comfortable using it."

On sale Saturday was everything from marijuana cookbooks and posters
to storage containers and hand-blown glass pipes.

At entertainer Magic Jason Ellingson's booth, a comic book chronicling
the adventures of Henry Hemp was available for $3.

"Nobody should be in jail for a plant; no jail for pot, hemp seeds or
anything!" Ellingson said into a microphone as expo attendees walked
by his booth, smiling at the green foam hat shaped like gigantic
marijuana leaf perched on his head.

At the Unconventional Foundation for Autism booth, parent Mieko
Hester-Perez of Brea recounted her controversial decision to treat her
terminally ill, autistic son with small doses of marijuana.

Joey, who was had been given just six months to live last year,
weighed 48 pounds at age 10, Hester-Perez said. He was extremely
aggressive, on 13 medications for autism, and had recently been
diagnosed with anorexia and malnutrition, she said.

After she began giving him carefully controlled doses of marijuana in
a brownie, his behavior improved, he gained more than 40 pounds and he
went down to two autism medications, said Hester-Perez, founder of the
Unconventional Foundation for Autism, which works with more than 100
parents.

"I saved my son's life," said Hester-Perez, whose story has been
featured on TV shows like Good Morning America and 20/20. "This is an
alternative to parents who have exhausted all other means."

Hester-Perez said her decision came with great hesitation, and even at
Saturday's expo, she explained how out of place she felt.

"I feel like a fish out of water," she said. "I'm a non-cannabis user,
and the next booth over is selling marijuana pipes. But I'm here. I
couldn't sleep at night knowing I could help another family."

A few booths down from her was Other Side Farms, a Costa Mesa
cooperative that grows medical marijuana for about 200 members,
including for young Joey and for Joanne Clarke, a Costa Mesa legal
secretary who has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for the past 23
years.

"I was addicted to opiates (prescription pain killers), so I decided
to withdraw myself and try this," said Clarke, who uses an electric
convenience vehicle for long distances. "I had smoked pot two times in
my life and didn't like it."

Clarke said she started medicating herself with cannabis via pills and
brownies.

"The pain goes away and it gives me energy," Clarke said. "It
surprises me I don't get high. I go slow and gradually."

The expo was sponsored by the Orange County chapter of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, along with
the Santa Ana-based law firm Glew & Kim.

Such expos have become increasingly common in recent years, popping up
across Southern California, officials said.

"I'm utterly enthusiastic Orange County is supporting this," said
prominent medical marijuana activist Richard Eastman, who founded a
similar event in West Hollywood five years ago.

"There are still people here who say, 'Reefer madness!' and still
doctors who write prescriptions for dangerous (legal) drugs instead of
cannabis. I'm fighting for the right to be able to put the medicine I
want to put in my own body."

Day 2: Mixer and party

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The Orange County chapter of the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, will host its seventh-anniversary party
Sunday afternoon at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel, 777 Convention Way. The
event featuring music, food, a raffle and networking
opportunities also will serve as the after-party to Saturday's Know
Your Rights Expo. The party runs noon to 8 p.m.; tickets are $25 at
the door. Information: www.knowyourrightsexpo.com.