LA Times: Jack Herer dies at 70; author and advocate for marijuana legalization

[Gravel Democrat]

Jack made the big time. Finally.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-jack-herer-20100424,0,5947711.story

"...Herer wrote ‘The Emperor Wears No Clothes,’ in which he was critical of the government’s ban on hemp cultivation and extolled the plant’s versatility as paper, fiber, fuel, food and medicine.



"...Herer researched and wrote an exuberant book that became the bible of the movement to legalize hemp, a non-psychoactive strain of marijuana. "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," which was first published in 1985, has sold more than 700,000 copies. In it, Herer wields extensive documentation to ridicule the government's ban on hemp cultivation and to highlight the plant's versatility as paper, fiber, fuel, food and medicine.

The book made Herer into one of the most recognizable figures in the marijuana movement and converted him into a pop icon memorialized by a strain of cannabis. For decades, Herer, known as the Emperor of Hemp or the Hemperor, crisscrossed the country, rhapsodizing about the wonders of weed.

Bruce Margolin, one of L.A.'s best-known marijuana defense lawyers, recalls that Herer was always trying to teach people about hemp. "At that time I was ignorant of it like everyone else," he said. "He educated me and many, many other people through his book and his lectures..."

"...Herer researched "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" for years, scouring the archives of the Library of Congress for evidence that he believed the government suppressed when marijuana was outlawed in 1937. The book, updated many times, sparked a hemp resurgence, and he became a circuit-riding preacher. In 1990, Herer addressed 60 rallies in 48 places in one six-week stint..."

I previously posted about this, in this forum. This is a new article, from a new source, posted for more exposure.

Jacks rallying cry: Hemp for Food, Fiber, Fuel and Medicine

It's all documented here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp

Jack was a true leader. We lived amongst a great man that historians will write about 500 years from now.

Goodbye Jack. Thanks for everything.

Edit: Forgot link to LA Times and important quotes

[Webster Green]

1. Very sad.

I knew him, and he was one of my heroes.

RIP Jack!

[GReedDiamond]

2. I going to his Memorial Service in a few hours...

...I met him in 1983 when my band was involved in a July 3rd-4th Smoke-In at the Federal Building in Los Angeles (Westwood). Besides playing at the event, we contacted Black Flag and booked them to play, along with Würm, which featured Chuck Dukowski of BF. The organization which acquired the permits for the event was called California Marijuana Initiative (I did the artwork for the newspaper ads CMI took out to publicize the event), and my neighbors in the building where I had an art/recording studio were hooked up with CMI, which is how I met Jack, and first heard about the book he was working on.

RIP Jack.

[GReedDiamond]

3. Here are a couple of pictures from the Memorial Service...

I've never been to a memorial service where everybody was smoking weed. The chapel was filled beyond capacity, with many more stuck outside. Overall, despite the sadness of the occasion, there was a feeling of joy in the room, because here, in California, we are about to make Jack's dream of legal marijuana a reality. At least, that's what those of us who were in attendance believe, and will continue work for until it happens.