Jack Herer
{{Short description|American author and activist (1939–2010)}}
{{About|the author and activist|the cannabis strain|Jack Herer (cannabis)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jack Herer
| image = JackHerer-9-23-1989.jpg
| caption = Jack Herer in Washington, DC, in 1989.
| birth_date = June 18, 1939
| birth_place = Buffalo, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|04|15|1939|06|18}}
| death_place = Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
| burial_place = Eden Memorial Park Cemetery, Mission Hills, Los Angeles
| other_names = The Emperor of Hemp
The Hemperor
| occupation = Activist, author
| organizations = Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP)
Global Cannabis Community Founding Father
Front Line Freedom Fighter
| notable_works = The Emperor Wears No Clothes
| known_for = Third Eye Shoppe
| children = 6
}}
File:Jack Herer and Dana Beal. 1989 Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Fest in Madison Wisconsin.jpg at the September 1989 Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Fest in Madison, Wisconsin.]]
Jack Herer ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɛr|ər}}; June 18, 1939 – April 15, 2010), sometimes called the "Emperor of Hemp", was an American cannabis rights activist and the author of the 1985 book The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Herer founded and served as the director of the organization Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP).{{cite web|url=http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/herer_jack/herer_jack.shtml|title=Erowid Jack Herer Vault|work=erowid.org|access-date=June 12, 2008|archive-date=June 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622225737/https://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/herer_jack/herer_jack.shtml|url-status=live}}
As an activist, he advocated for the decriminalization of the cannabis plant and argued that it could be used as a renewable source of fuel, medicine, food, fiber, and paper/pulp and that it can be grown in virtually any part of the world for medicinal as well as economic purposes. He further asserted that the U.S. government has been deliberately hiding the proof of this from its own citizens.
Biography
An early glass pipe entrepreneur, Herer opened his first head shop in 1973.{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/09/05/selling-of-drug-paraphernalia-goes-from-chic-to-underground/|title=Selling Of Drug Paraphernalia Goes From Chic To Underground|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=January 24, 2016|archive-date=January 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130231322/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-09-05/news/8901100384_1_pipes-paraphernalia-head-shops|url-status=live}}
In 1985, Herer self-published The Emperor Wears No Clothes, a book — in 2020 in its fourteenth edition after having been continuously in print for 35 years — frequently cited in efforts to decriminalize and legalize cannabis and to expand the use of hemp for industrial use.
In 1987, Herer opened the Third Eye Shoppe head shop in Portland, Oregon. Herer's son Mark Herer took over as the shop's owner in 2001. The Third Eye closed on March 31, 2017.Cizmar, Martin. [https://www.wweek.com/potlander/2017/04/18/the-story-of-one-of-the-greatest-cannabis-advocates-who-ever-lived-and-the-strain-that-bears-his-name/ "The Story of One of the Greatest Cannabis Advocates Who Ever Lived and the Strain That Bears His Name: With the closure of Third Eye, the Potlander wanted to revisit the life of Jack Herer,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224001030/https://www.wweek.com/potlander/2017/04/18/the-story-of-one-of-the-greatest-cannabis-advocates-who-ever-lived-and-the-strain-that-bears-his-name/ |date=December 24, 2022 }} Willamette Week (April 18, 2017).
A former Goldwater Republican, Herer twice ran for President of the United States, in 1988 (1,949 votes){{cite web|title=Minnesota Election Results 1988, p. 18|url=https://www.leg.state.mn.us/archive/sessions/electionresults/1988-11-08-g-sec.pdf|work=Minnesota Legislative Reference Library|date=November 1988|author=Minnesota Secretary of State|author-link=Minnesota Secretary of State|access-date=December 22, 2022|archive-date=January 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115184538/https://www.leg.state.mn.us/archive/sessions/electionresults/1988-11-08-g-sec.pdf|url-status=live}} and 1992 (3,875 votes),{{cite web|title=Federal Elections 92: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, p. 9|url=http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe1992/federalelections92.pdf|work=Federal Election Commission|date=June 1993|author=Klein, Patricia A.|access-date=December 22, 2022|archive-date=December 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210054019/http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe1992/federalelections92.pdf|url-status=live}} as the Grassroots Party candidate.
=Health problems and death =
File:Jack Herer. September 12, 2009. Hempstalk Festival in Portland, Oregon.jpg
In July 2000, Herer suffered a minor heart attack and a major stroke while attending the BioFach trade show, resulting in difficulties speaking and moving the right side of his body.[http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1620.html "Jack Herer suffers heart attack"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927224848/http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1620.html |date=September 27, 2007 }}, Pete Brady, Cannabis Culture Magazine, July 20, 2000 Herer mostly recovered, and claimed in May 2004 that treatment with the Amanita muscaria, a psychoactive mushroom, was the "secret".[http://freepress.org/journal.php?strFunc=display&strID=229&strJournal=27 "An Afternoon With Jack Herer"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155230/http://freepress.org/journal.php?strFunc=display&strID=229&strJournal=27 |date=September 30, 2007 }}, Sean Luse, The Free Press, May 23, 2004
On September 12, 2009, Herer suffered another heart attack while backstage at the Hempstalk Festival in Portland, Oregon.{{cite web|url=http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/emperor-wears-no-clothes-marijuana-author-jack-herer-collapses-after-stage-appearance-portla|title="The Emperor Wears No Clothes" Marijuana Author Jack Herer Collapses After Stage Appearance at Portland Hempstalk|work=Cannabis Culture|date=September 13, 2009|access-date=September 14, 2009|archive-date=September 22, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922182050/http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/emperor-wears-no-clothes-marijuana-author-jack-herer-collapses-after-stage-appearance-portla|url-status=live}}
He was discharged to another facility on October 13, 2009. Paul Stanford of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation said, "He is waking up and gazing appropriately when someone is talking... but he is not really communicating in any way."[http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october132009/jackherer_101309.php "Jack Herer Strives To Recover As The Fight For Hemp Goes On"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016011120/http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october132009/jackherer_101309.php |date=October 16, 2009 }}, Bonnie King, Salem-news.com , October 13, 2009
On April 15, 2010, Herer died in Eugene, Oregon, from complications related to the September 2009 heart attack. He was 70 years old at the time of his death.[http://www.salem-news.com/articles/april152010/jack_herer_died.php "The Hemperor, Jack Herer has Died"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419122341/http://salem-news.com/articles/april152010/jack_herer_died.php |date=April 19, 2010 }}, Bonnie King, Salem-news.com , April 15, 2010{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/04/jack_herer_fatherof_marijuana.html|title=Jack Herer, father of marijuana legalization movement, dies at age 70 in Eugene|last=Saker|first=Anne|date=2010-04-15|work=The Oregonian|access-date=April 16, 2010|archive-date=April 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419110602/http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/04/jack_herer_fatherof_marijuana.html|url-status=live}} Herer was buried at the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.
Criticism
European experts on hemp, like Dr. Hayo M.G. van der Werf, author of the doctoral thesis Crop physiology of fibre hemp (1994), and Dr. Ivan Bocsa criticized Herer for making unrealistic claims regarding the potential of hemp (cf. the work of Lyster Hoxie Dewey).{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/fiberproductioni518dewe#page/66/mode/2up|author=Dewey LH|title=Fiber production in the western hemisphere|date=1943|page=67|publisher=United States Printing Office, Washington|access-date=25 February 2015}}
- Herer claimed that hemp produces higher yields than other crops. Van der Werf argued that is simply wrong. Under most favorable growing conditions, other crops such as maize, sugar beet, or potato produced similar dry matter yields. Fiber hemp is in many ways superior to other crops under adverse growing conditions.{{cite web|url=http://www.hempfood.com/iha/iha01213.html |title=Hemp facts and hemp fiction |access-date=2011-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713184209/http://www.hempfood.com/iha/iha01213.html |archive-date=July 13, 2013 }}
- Herer claimed that hemp hurds, which make up 60 to 80% of the stem dry weight, contain 77% cellulose. Van der Werf argued that is wrong. Cellulose content of hemp hurds has been found to vary between 32 and 38% (Bedetti and Ciaralli 1976, van der Werf 1994). Possibly, Herer confused the hurds, which form the woody core of the hemp stem, with the bark, which forms the outer layer of the hemp stem. The bark contains the long bast fibers which are used in textile manufacturing.
Legacy
A sativa-dominant hybrid strain of cannabis[http://www.sensiseeds.com/jackherer/1p2310.html "Jack Herer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226104326/http://www.sensiseeds.com/jackherer/1p2310.html |date=February 26, 2007 }}, Sensi Seeds was named after Herer in honor of his work. The Jack Herer strain was originally created by Sensi Seeds. Today almost all seed banks carry their own take on this famous cannabis favorite.Zamnesia blog, 2015 [https://www.zamnesia.com/blog-jack-herer-cannabis-strain-review-information-n783 "Jack Herer cannabis strain review and information"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421092727/https://www.zamnesia.com/blog-jack-herer-cannabis-strain-review-information-n783 |date=April 21, 2021 }} This strain has won several awards, including the 7th High Times Cannabis Cup. Jack Herer was also inducted into the Counterculture Hall of Fame at the 16th Cannabis Cup in recognition of his first book.[http://hightimes.com/cancup/hager/29 "History of the Cup"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324084517/http://hightimes.com/cancup/hager/29 |date=March 24, 2012 }}, Steven Hager, High Times Cannabis Cup, September 23, 2004.
Emperor of Hemp is a documentary made about Herer's life that aired on PBS stations throughout the U.S., and was translated into French and Spanish.{{cite web|url=http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/emperor_of_hemp_the_jack_herer_story|title=Watch "Emperor of Hemp" Full Documentary Online Free|website=www.snagfilms.com|access-date=September 17, 2012|archive-date=October 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027072602/http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/emperor_of_hemp_the_jack_herer_story|url-status=dead}}
Works
Books
- (with Al Emmanuel) G.R.A.S.S.: Great Revolutionary American Standard System: The Official Guide for Assessing the Quality of Marijuana on the 1 to 10 Scale (Primo Publications, 1973)
- The Emperor Wears No Clothes (Van Nuys, California: Ah Ha Publishing, 1985, 1990) {{ISBN|978-1878125002}}
Articles
- "Cannabis Medicines Banned," Totse.com, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140110001225/http://www.zoklet.net/totse/en/drugs/marijuana/thc1.html archived at the Wayback Machine] — excerpt from The Emperor Wears No Clothes
- "Hemp for Victory — Coverup," Totse.com, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100307030844/http://www.zoklet.net/totse/en/drugs/marijuana/hfv_ref.html archived at the Wayback Machine]
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- {{Wikiquote-inline}}
- [http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/herer_jack/herer_jack.shtml Erowid Jack Herer Vault]
- [http://the420times.com/2010/04/jack-herer-emperor-of-hemp-passes-away/ Jack Herer, Emperor of Hemp, Passes Away] The 420 Times
- [http://www.jackherercup.com jackherercup.com]
{{Cannabis| state=expanded}}
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Category:American non-fiction writers
Category:American cannabis activists
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:Cannabis political party politicians
Category:Grassroots Party politicians
Category:Politicians from Buffalo, New York
Category:Candidates in the 1988 United States presidential election
Category:Candidates in the 1992 United States presidential election
Category:Activists from Buffalo, New York