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The Emperor Wears No Clothes
by Jack Herer
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This is the book that started the cannabis hemp revolution. Jack wanted this information to be available to everyone, so he published the text of the book here for free.
The new Kindle edition and paperback are available for purchase at
Here are some of the source materials in the back of the paperback version:
Reign of Law: A Tale of the Kentucky Hemp Fields, 1900
Schlichten/Scripps letters
Movie review of “Hemp for Victory,” 1988
Documentation of authenticity for “Hemp for Victory”
U.S. History entwined with Hemp; USDA Yearbooks
USDA Bulletin No. 404, 1916
American Midland Naturalist (excerpt)
HEMP, Farmer’s Bulletin No. 1935, 1943
“Humorous Hemp Primer” German comic book
Isochanvre: Nature as Architect
“Making Fossils of Fossil Fuels” Utne Reader, 1991
“Reconsider Hemp,” Pulp and Paper Magazine, 1991, 1993
“Marijuana Tax Act of 1937,” House Hearings
The Hemperor’s Classic Clip Collection, 1985-1998
“The Weed” (Gene Krupa) Time Magazine article, 1943
“From Test Tube to You,” Popular Mechanics, 1939
American Peoples Encyclopedia (1953) DuPont history
“Pinch Hitters for Defense” Popular Mechanics, 1941
“Ford Tells of Stronger Cars” Popular Science, 1941
Science Newsletter, “Hemp Grown in U.S. as War Cuts Imports,” “Marijuana Found Useful in Mental Ills”
“War Booms Hemp Industry,” Newsweek, 1942
“Can We Have Rope Without Dope?” Popular Science, 1943
“Hemp Quota Cut,” Business Week, 1944
“Hemp Slows Up,” Business Week, 1944
“Army Study of Marihuana Smokers…” Newsweek, 1945
“Marijuana and Mentality,” Newsweek, 1946
“Marihuana” (unattributed article), 1940
“Radioactivity: The New-Found Danger in Cigarettes,” 1986
Diazepines (Valium): #1 in Abuse
Drug Charges, 1990
“Rather Fight Than Switch?” Whole Life Times, 1985
America, Russia, Hemp, and Napoleon, 1783-1812, Book, 1965
“Marihuana: New Tax Hits Potent Weed,” Newsweek, 1937
“Marijuana More Dangerous Than Heroin or Cocaine,” 1938
“Bush Intervenes on Tax,” New York Times, 1982
“The Marijuana Conviction,” The Birth of Prohibition, 1987
Ecology cover-story collage
Authorities Examine Pot Claims, 1989
Greenhouse Effect articles
“Urge Production of Dioxin-Free Paper from Hemp,” 1990
Hemp for Fuel, 1989
Summaries of Research Papers on Hemp
“Authorities Examine Pot Claims,” Athens News, 1989
“July Sets Record for Heat,” Los Angeles Times, 1998
Cotton Vital Statistics, 1996
“How our Heads of State Got High,” High Times, April 1980
“Iran Executes Over 30 Drug Traffickers,” 1989
“Beatles High When Queen Decorated,” National Enquirer, 1970
“Protect Youth Against Dope,” Hearst clipping, c. 1935
“Paul’s Pot-Bust Shocker,” High Times, July 1980
Police States: Prohibition Through the Ages
Security Wrap-up: Drug Use, 1989
HR 4079 and Its Parellels with Nazi Germany
“U.S. Jails More People…” Bakersfield Californian, 1991
“The Chemistry of Reefer Madness,” Omni, 1989
“Pro-Pot Police Teacher,” Oklahoma City Times, 1975
“Teens Can Use Yet Not Abuse Drugs,” c. 1986
“Herer Promotes Hemp Plant,” Wall Street Journal, 1991
“Nancy Reagan Enlists John Paul II,” c. 1982
“Court Gives CIA Power…” Oregonian, 1985
Doonesbury, by Garry Trudeau
“Voices for Legalization,” High Times, 1990
“Why Drug War Cannot be Won,” by George Soros, 1997
“Chemicals in Pot Cut Pain,” Los Angeles Times, 1997
“Fat Solubility Scare – Nahas,” High Times, April 1982
Trial by Jury: Cherished Heritage
“Collective Conscience Breeds Dutch Tolerance,” 1989
DuPont Annual Report, 1937
Dana Beal’s Coverage of DuPont Story
Seizure & Forfeiture Laws: Take Hands Off My Assets, 1989
Drug Legalization: Interest Rises in Prestigious Circles, 1989
Administrative Judge Urges Medicinal Use of Marijuana, 1988
Glaucoma and AIDS victims legal cannabis articles
“Science and the Citizen,” Scientific American, 1990
“Response to Rosenthal,” by Lynn Osburn, 1995
“Energy Farming,” Chapter from Eco-Hemp, 1994
“Fighting the Police State,” L.A. Times; Orange County Register, 1994
“Environmental Impact of Laws Against Marijuana,” Orange County Register, 1994
“Hemp a Source of Energy,” Albany Times-Union, August 1990
Letter from Tipper; Hemp Stamps
The Brawley Report, 1998
Various press reports, 1998
All source materials are in their entirety and very readable and mostly in their original form, pictures included.