Emperor of Hemp / Activist / Force of Nature

Jack Herer is a popular Sativa-dominant strain named after an early marijuana activist. However Jack Herer, the man, was not always on the “pro” side of cannabis. After serving in the army as a post-Korean War MP, the Goldwater Republican felt America was the greatest land in the world, and anybody who would burn their draft card and/or the American flag was an un-American lowlife. Once he found these white, overly privileged, disrespectful cowards were also pot smokers, he attributed cannabis to be part of their problem.

All that changed after Jack’s divorce and his new girlfriend got him to try cannabis. The strain, Acapulco Gold, sent Jack to fantastical places he could not believe existed; he could see musical notes intermingle in song, and his body became electric to his lover’s touch. Once he researched the rich 12,000-year history of humanity’s relationship with cannabis, he evolved into a true evangelist. He realized cannabis’ broad applications as a renewable source of fuel, medicine, food, fiber, and paper — and saw no logical reason for the demonization of this beneficial plant. All through the late 1960’s and up until his death on April 15, 2010, Jack lectured, marched, collected signatures, rallied, and tirelessly organized in the name of cannabis legalization. Look him up, or better yet check out his authoritative work, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” — a must read for any marijuana enthusiast. So here’s to Jack Herer, we should all do something worthy of having a strain named after us.