Jack Herer has rebounded from the massive heart attack he suffered at the Portland Hempfest on Sept. 12, “Cannabis Revolution Examiner” Dev Meyers reports. She goes on to explain how media reports, on Examiner.com and elsewhere, compounded rumors that Herer had died. It’s a cautionary tale about so-called citizen journalism, where anybody can be a reporter without the inconvenience of editing or fact-checking.
Maybe that’s just the old editor in me talking; the old, unemployed editor who used to pay his bills cleaning up such mistakes. But I digress. For added visuals, Meyers’ report is best viewed at the original link. She continues …
As the Cannabis community watched and prayed for Jack, journalism at its worst unfolded before our horrified eyes. A columnist ( at Examiner.com – not myself ) reported that Jack was dead. Other false reports followed on Google news. It seemed true. Jack was dead. But where were the supporting statements from the coroner, the doctor, the hospital.
I contacted the other Examiner.com reporter and inquired if he had verified his sources and he emailed back that a source close to the family had provided the information to him.
The medical marijuana community was in mourning for one of our greatest inspiring personalities.
Meanwhile, Jeannie Herer, was at Jack’s bedside in Legacy Emanuel Hospital. “Reporters had been emailing me for the status of Jack’s condition”, she said. “I was starting to lose hope but I never told them he was dead.”
“All of the sudden these morbid stories were flying around. And then the reporters found out they were wrong.”
The Examiner.com columnist (not me) submitted an apology and with his retraction. Everyone prayed for Jack’s speedy recovery and tried to raise money to help Jeannie with what surely would be a long road to recovery.
Everyone, that is except for Steve Cherms and Joy Graves. It is one of the most bizarre tales in the history of Cannabis litigation -click here for an amazing read.
If you have been following the complicated litigation, that Cherms and Graves concocted with their witches brew, you gotta know they are kooks! But unlike some of the more outrageous legal decisions the medical marijuana community has come to expect in recent years, Jeannie and Jack were awarded a just ruling. Click here for the details.
On Sunday night, while the entire country was glued to their television sets watching the Super Bowl, Jeannie was at the Herer’s new home in Portland, getting ready for Jack’s homecoming.
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