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Mr. Jack Here Himself With A Photo Of Us Together In San Francisco In 2003 Chris
This Photo Was Taken About 1 Year After His First Stroke "Rest In Peace My Friend!"
I Was The Only One Whom Jack Himself, Gave Me His Full Permission To Post His Book Online!
"The Emperor Wears No Clothes" Posted Right Here Online At www.OnlinePot.org
Click Right Here To Read For Free This "Major Marijuana Cult Following Book"
"The Emperor Wears No Clothes" Is Posted Online Here At OnlinePot
By Bonnie King, Salem-News.com – Tuesday, December 22 2009
It’s a sad situation. The making of a movie of the week, perhaps. When a world renowned author falls ill, his family and friends become enemies, all professing to do so on his behalf. In the meantime, his health continues to fail, and his good name is tarnished by the very people deemed to uphold it.
Much has been said, some of it true, some of it not true, regarding Jack Herer as of late.
Anchor of the worldwide hemp movement, Jack Herer lies in a bed in a rehabilitation center in Eugene, Oregon, continuing recovery from a heart attack and anoxic brain injury.
Whereas, we reported just over a month ago that he seemed to be making significant progress in his recuperation, now that progress has reportedly stymied.
Jack was rushed to the hospital and admitted November 7th for a four-day stay following dehydration and Stage 5 Renal (kidney) Failure. Doctors spent 35 straight minutes with Jack in Emergency, which is longer than usual to stabilize a patient. Even then, he wasn’t stable.
Since then, the battle between those closest to Jack has turned from a skirmish into a war.
DRUG SCREENING REVEALS SHOCKING RESULTS
When Jack was admitted to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center on November 7th, he was gravely ill with his blood pressure only reading 78/58.
Because doctors questioned the sudden and dramatic illness, the hospital ran a drug screen.
One person who has been consistently on Jack’s team, Joy Graves said, “I was notified by a brief phone call that the state of Oregon had an active investigation underway. And, I can see why."
“The day before this test was ran, Avamere had run a drug screen, and it only showed THC, nothing else. So this is absolutely frightening,” she added.
The drug screen at McKenzie-Willamette revealed positive for THC (50 ng), Alcohol (20 g/dl), and surprisingly, Amphetamines (1000 ng).
THC: Some might find it laughable that Jack would ever not have THC in his body, after decades of daily cannabis use.
Alcohol: This is a substance that Jack does not imbibe, for over 35 years by some accounts. The theory is that the alcohol may have been part of the hemp mixture he was given, perhaps a tincture, though that has yet to be confirmed.
Amphetamines: How amphetamines came to be in his system is quite the mystery, but the investigation is well underway. That’s where this discussion takes an immediate downward turn. And, it is apparently where the State of Oregon decided to step in.
“In his condition, amphetamines are about the farthest thing from what he needs in the world,” commented Dr. Phil Leveque, Forensic Toxicologist and friend of Jack Herer. "No doctor would knowingly administer such a thing to a heart patient."
Amphetamines elevate cardiac output and blood pressure making it dangerous for use by patients with a history of heart problems, causing life-threatening complications.
How the amphetamines entered Jack’s system is unknown, but the investigation is ongoing.
In recalling the night Jack was admitted with renal failure, Joy Graves said, “Chuck had been the one in total control of Jack and he didn’t want me there. I saw Jack briefly earlier that day, and I confronted Chuck because Jack didn’t look right and it seemed to me that he’d gone backward.”
At McKenzie-Willamette, Jack was found to be extremely dehydrated, the bronchitis had turned into a contagious infection, and he was diagnosed with Stage 5 Renal failure, which is often fatal. All that, and amphetamines, too?
“When I got to the hospital at 2:30 in the morning," Graves said, "Jack looked in sad shape. I had to call the nurse in four times to suction out phlegm from his throat so he could breathe. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, after all the progress he’d made. I asked for every test they had, to see why he was suddenly so sick.”
Amphetamines stay in one’s body 24-48 hours, alcohol stays less than 24 hours, and THC up to 30 days.
Four days later, Jack’s kidneys had cleared up and he was released back to the Rehab center. The hospital did so without consulting with, or even instructing those with authority over Jack’s care. A sign of things to come.
“Now that the test results have come to light, and seeing the records, I feel like I failed Jack. He should not have had to go through any of this," Graves said.
THE SEEMINGLY NEVER-ENDING DNR DISPUTE
“Some people assume that the original DNR went into effect in the beginning, when Jack seemed to be on the brink of death, but that’s not when it was ordered. In fact the DNR didn’t go into Jack’s chart until he had been moved to Avamere Rehabilitation Center, after he had shown improved brain function at Emanuel Hospital. That is when the decision to limit his care was put in place,” Graves said.
The "Do Not Resuscitate" (DNR) order put in place in October by Jeannie Herer was the flame that initially ignited the whole combustible ordeal.
Graves trumped the DNR by having it lifted, and a restraining order was filed against Jeannie Herer to stop her from making further decisions that may be a risk to Jack’s health.
On November 24th, Jeannie Herer responded via an online comment, “There are several different parts to a DNR form. I was told Jack wouldn’t survive another heart attack. He’s still going to have heart surgery in the future. The only box on the DNR that I checked to ‘not resuscitate’ him was for if he was already dead. The rehab facility told us that they would have taken him to the hospital for bronchitis no matter what. There is a lot more to this that I can’t talk about now, but it will come out.” That is the last we’ve heard from Jeannie Herer on the subject.
Graves says that a Do Not Resuscitate order takes away Jack’s right to make a decision, “Everyone knows Jack Herer has had several major medical situations in the last ten years. If a DNR was something he was in favor of, it would have been well known. If his wishes involved limiting his care, he would have marked the answers differently on the medical directive.”
BUT THE DNR STORY DOESN’T STOP THERE…
The DNR removal was good news to so many, but it’s existence was still confusing. However, nothing was as confusing as this: during the hospital stay that week in November, co-Power of Attorney Chuck Jacobs ordered a new DNR, giving permission to intubate, but no CPR. The rationalization behind this has not yet been explained, and oddly enough I spoke to Chuck that same day.
He talked to me about “things” in general, since returning from Europe last month, and said his relationship with Jeannie Herer was “going good.” I asked how he felt about the DNR that had been in place, as that was the main note of contention with his co-power of attorney, Joy Graves.
He said, “The DNR was different than how it was explained. It’s very common that people choose that. It wasn’t even a full DNR. If he has a pulse, then they’d save him. 911 would be called, transported and everything.”
“So, there wasn’t a ‘no transport’ order?” I asked.
“No. There never was a ‘no transport’ order,” Chuck said. “I don’t know why anyone ever said that. It’s just all not what people think it is. Jeannie’s got a bad name with the hospital and care home because of hemp oil. It’s not really fair. Everything’s kind of messed up right now, but its all working out. Jack’s back with his family, he’s happy and content.”
“What happened with the hemp oil?,” I asked.
“Well, yesterday the doctor checked Jack out of the hospital when Jeannie and I were out for a smoke. We were gone twenty minutes, then came back and Jack was gone without them telling us anything. Then we found out there was a doctor’s note that bans all visitors, because someone has been giving him THC.”
“How do they know?”
“They found THC in his system, and it’s an issue. Jack can’t have any hemp oil until a private place has been found,” Chuck explained. “I don’t like what’s been going on, but it’s pretty hard to know what will happen next.”
The no transport order, for the record, was written on a white board in Jack’s room. It wasn’t a piece of paper, but Chuck might not have known this, since he was in Europe when all this came to a head.
All the while this discussion was taking place, Chuck didn’t reveal that we were talking about the current DNR, that he had enacted earlier that day, November 12th, 2009. A new DNR.
HEMP IS THE WORD…
Much speculation has been cast about regarding who has kept Jack Herer from getting the hemp oil he so believes in, the medicine he’d been taking for over thirty years.
First of all, until US federal law changes about the legal use of medical marijuana, there will be a problem with hospitals and healthcare facilities: most find it too risky to allow medicinal marijuana to be administered on their premises. Getting heat from the feds doesn’t do their business any good. This contradiction between states where medicinal marijuana (cannabis) use is legal, and the federal government’s stance to continue to punish sick and ill patients remains very problematic.
According to many sources, Jeannie Herer did attempt to get hemp oil to Jack in the beginning, with some success, but it was a complicated ordeal and ended when he was transferred to Avamere Rehabilitation Center in Eugene. They gave a resounding “no” regarding cannabis, and that was the agreement upon his arrival.
Because cannabis was not a part of his daily meds regime, the herb’s medicinal qualities were not considered when other dosages for medications were prescribed. Though it is commonly understood among his family and friends that “cannabis is the best medicine”, he was not allowed to have any.
Not just a few of Jack’s supporters have been disturbed by this.
In response to accusations of withholding the oil, Joy Graves said, “I am not against Jack getting Rick Simpson oil. But I am against wrong dosages, illegal administration and questionable quality that could cost Jack therapeutically. Jack always got Rick Simpson oil straight from the source, and he’s probably only been given second-rate copies of it. Jack needs his oil, he has used it every day for a long time, and I think it would really help him.”
For all intents and purposes, the US federal government is the only entity truly deserving of the responsibility of keeping the healing oil from Jack.
SEPARATION OF THE CANNA-FRIENDS
Three months ago, Jack had a heart attack on day one at Portland’s Hempstalk. His team somberly finished up the festival without the Hemperor.
His health was the main topic of discussion throughout the grounds, and those on stage dedicated their music, speeches and performances to Jack, sending him the power of the cheering crowd again and again. Hundreds of people signed a banner to express their concern, and many prayed for a speedy recovery.
In those first days and weeks, family and close friends came and went from Jack’s side, some of them accepting that this visit might be the last, some refusing to do anything less than believe he would recover. Tim Pate played guitar and sang to Jack. Small improvements were noted, but Jack didn’t make any big strides.
Chuck Jacobs told me that during this time of unity, his experience had been just the opposite.
He said that one day at Emanuel Hospital, Jeannie Herer accused him of giving Jack drugs, LSD or ecstasy, while on the festival tour and blamed him for Jack’s heart attack. She demanded that he leave the hospital premises, and not only that, but also give her Jack’s van and move out of Jack’s house, where he lived full time as Jack’s assistant.
Chuck was overwhelmed, and said in October that even though he was hurt and angry, he “felt bad for her”, assuming she was overreacting due to her concern for Jack’s life, but that her accusations were wrong. He complied with her wishes, left the hospital and headed to California to pack his belongings.
What Jeannie Herer didn’t yet know at the time was that Jack had assigned Chuck Jacobs and Joy Graves his Power of Attorney.
Jack also signed the Advanced Health Care Directive (AD) which gave primary powers to Chuck, and listed Joy as the substitute if Chuck is unwilling or unable to act as the primary representative on Jack’s behalf.
Emanuel Hospital reviewed the Advanced Health Care Directive and deemed it incomplete initially due to a missing signature, which was later rectified. Chuck “signed on” into AD on October 5th, and then he left for California. Chuck and Joy Graves hoped that the administrators would acknowledge their right to oversee, or at minimum, participate in, Jack’s medical care.
One might ask about this time, why would they want to do that? Good question.
It’s not a secret anymore that Jeannie and Jack weren’t living together at the time of his heart attack. In early summer, she tried to move them to a different house. Jack apparently waffled. He told several people that he didn’t intend to move out of his house at Clear Lake.
Jeannie went to Nevada for a time to help her nephew, and considered Carson City as a possible store location. She spoke to me then, and said that Jack thought a head shop would be a hit there, but she was more inclined to focus on hemp education in the beginning, considering the state of the legal system in Nevada. In the end, it was not a viable business idea and Jeannie returned to California without much ado.
But she didn’t move back in with Jack. She found another place, in Santa Rosa, that she says would have suited their needs, and she was planning for Jack to move in with her after the festival season.
Jeannie Herer cast out those people closest to Jack who had administered care, support, love and friendship on the road in her absence. They weren’t about to break their promise to Jack however, and due to Jack’s own insistence, they had the paperwork to prove they were representing his wishes.
Jeannie had all of Jack’s worldly possessions moved out of his house and put into storage. She says it was in an attempt to save her and Jack money, others say it was about Jack never coming home.
Finally out of critical condition, Jack was transferred to Avamere Rehabilitation center in Eugene.
On the record that the Power of Attorney was legally “durable”, Jeannie allowed Joy to visit with Jack while Chuck went on tour with Rick Simpson in Europe, in Jack’s place.
At that point, Jack’s condition was stable, and he showed signs of progress. He would follow with his eyes and at times smile, but was not responding to physical therapy, and not speaking. Jeannie left for California to finish moving. Shortly thereafter, the DNR was discovered in Jack’s file, and things took a sudden 180 degree turn, as has been widely reported.
When Jeannie returned to Oregon, she was not allowed in to see Jack.
On October 29th, a legal separation of marriage was filed in Lake County, California on Jack’s behalf by Joy Graves, officially recognizing their estrangement. The date of the end of the marriage is noted as July 7, 2009 which is the day Jack officially took Jeannie off his lease.
Jeannie questions the separation in her November 17th online update, “If Jack had wanted a legal separation on 7/7/09, why didn’t he get it himself? He didn’t have the heart attack until September 12. Our 10-year anniversary was September 9. He was on the road but he called me and wished me a happy anniversary and told me he loved me and that he would be in Santa Rosa with me as soon as he was finished with the Portland Hempfest.”
Living in Santa Rosa is not what Jack had in mind, say others.
“Jack was having problems with Jeannie. He went into great detail with me as well as others regarding Jeannie and his fears of her. He said this ‘break up was different’, that it was over and he was done”, Joy Graves told Salem-News. “He said that Jeannie had begun threatening him with legalities, mostly about the IRS, and she was always needing more money from him. Even when she says she wanted him to start taking it easy, she was actually making big demands of him and lots of us could see he was working too much, trying to keep up.”
“He said he knew she wasn’t accepting of ‘it being over’, but he was blunt about it,” Graves recalls Jack saying, "‘She threatened me with a divorce from Carson City – I wish she would, I’m done.’”
“He said, She said” is a tedious game. Without Jack’s input now, it’s all about piecing together documentation and testimony.
For a man so full of words, he apparently did not share enough of them with his wife when it mattered the most; she has said multiple times that she was not under the impression that their marriage was “over” and expected to reconcile after the festival season, but if Jack had told her he wanted to end their marriage she would have done so.
WHAT ABOUT THE CHUCK AND JOY TEAM?
These two unlikely partners-in-care were brought together solely by Jack’s own doing. When Jack enlisted them to sign the Power of Attorney and Advanced Medical Directive, they did so because of his persistence. They did not expect to be drafted into service within hours.
Chuck and Jack spent over 200 days a year on the road. Without Jack, Chuck continued as planned, and went on the European hemp tour with Rick Simpson about three weeks after Jack’s heart attack. The drama with the discovery of the DNR and activation of Chuck and Joy’s authority took place in his absence, and so returning to the Northwest was an anxious event.
After Graves assumed responsibility for Jack, either she or Eve Lentz were at Jack’s side for the next twelve solid days. During this time, there was continued “Considerable” and “Chart Notable” progress demonstrated. The facility decreased the daily narcotics he had been receiving, increased physical and speech therapies, and the results were positive.
Regardless of all the drama going on outside Jack’s room, inside his world he seemed to be making progress.
Within a week, we were told that Jack was saying more words, that he was more responsive, and even singing, or trying to sing anyway.
It’s been revealed that Eve and Jack had a relationship outside his marriage, and it’s true that Eve has admitted a great love for Jack. Still, regardless of all else, there is hard documentation that while she and Joy were working with him, he made remarkable strides.
Though I have not yet been allowed to visit Jack due to the visitation restrictions of this complicated ordeal, I have seen video footage of Jack trying to speak, forming some words, even trying to sing along as Eve sang aloud to him; he responded to direction and pushed a button on command, which proves some coordination of his thought process.
The video clips were taken just before Jack was hospitalized November 7th, and so do not necessarily reflect his present condition. They do substantiate that Jack has been communicating – though very limited, and that there is reason to continue being positive about his potential to recover more fully.
When Chuck returned to Oregon and started piecing together what had taken place in his absence, Joy “stood down” voluntarily so Chuck could assume care for Jack, and possibly rekindle his relationship with Jeannie, if he saw fit.
Chuck was perplexed and eventually clearly displeased that Joy had filed the restraining order and the marriage separation papers, and said he was not in favor of either. The divide between the two began to increase.
Still, Chuck was Jack’s assistant, his right-hand man, his roommate; and Graves said she had no reason to not have confidence that Jack was in good hands.
Within days, Jack was back in the hospital, this time in dire straits.
Since Jack had just been to Emergency (for bronchitis) the week prior, McKenzie-Willamette hospital knew the instructions via Joy Graves to be “Full Code”, which is an order to do everything possible to keep the patient alive.
However, when Jack was transported to the hospital this time around, Chuck was in charge, and he did the strangest thing.
Chuck had the medical directive at that time, therefore he had the right to decide Jack’s “code status”, and he instructed “DNR” and “Limited Intervention”, which contradicted Jack’s previous full code.
According to the record, the hospital personnel found it worthy of note that he was insistent about the DNR:
CODE STATUS HAS BEEN ADDRESSED WITH THE PATIENT’S POWER-OF-ATTORNEY, MR. ________, AND HE EXPRESSED LIMITED CODE. HE EXPRESSED THAT IT IS OKAY TO INTUBATE IN CASE OF RESPITORY FAILURE, BUT HE DEFINITELY SAID NO TO RESUSCITATION IN CASE OF CARDIAC ARREST, SO NO CPR BUT OKAY WITH INTUBATION.
“As far as I know, at this time, the DNR and Limitation stands. I am working on getting that changed because I feel it’s totally inappropriate and unjustified,” Joy Graves said. “I don’t know why Chuck would do something like remove the blanket that may be needed to save Jacks life. Maybe somehow, he just doesn’t understand.”
This action brought the same response to Chuck that the DNR had meant to Jeannie, a swiftly acquired restraining order to keep him from making further decisions.
Chuck was served on the 13th of November. “Unfortunately for poor Jack,” Graves said, “it was a little too late in some ways.” Also, and before the state investigation began, Chuck had already been terminated from the Advanced Directive due to a breech of contract.
Jeannie Herer was served with a second Restraining Order the following day, November 14th, but not without a lot of drama.
Jeannie wrote, “Last Saturday (November 14th) I went to see Jack at the rehab facility. I went out to smoke with Jack’s roommate. While we were out back, a nurse came and told me a woman and her daughter was at the nurses’ station with a restraining order. She said she’d keep them at the desk so I could go around the building to the parking lot. I got in the van and was pulling out of the parking lot when Joy Graves and Steve Cherms pulled up about an inch in front of me, blocking my way out of the parking lot.”
Joy says she called for the assistance of the Eugene police department as Jeannie refused to cooperate.
Jeannie says she was the one who alerted the police and they stayed with her while the officials made decisions. "First, the police spoke to them and then came over and asked me what was going on. I told them I was visiting my husband who was in the facility with an anoxic brain injury."
In the end, she received the service papers and was allowed to leave the premises.
Documents removing Chuck from Jack’s Advanced Medical Directive were given to Avamere on November 15th. Chuck Jacobs was terminated from the Power of Attorney, recorded on November 24th. Julie Phelps, Avamere’s administrator, told Joy Graves “as soon as the legal team reviews them, I will give you a call in a day or two." Copies of the court orders have been submitted to Avamere multiple times, but Joy has yet to hear that they have been acknowledged.
The first restraining order that Joy Graves filed against Jeannie Herer was dismissed because it was filed in Oregon instead of California. She then re-filed in California, and that order was dismissed December 3rd, simultaneously with the one against Chuck Jacobs, tabling Graves’ other actions. That too, was an event full of emotional upheaval and conflicting perspective.
Bill McPike, attorney for Jeannie Herer, and others were in attendance. After some discussion, the judge told Joy Graves that the orders needed to be re-filed by a (California) state licensed attorney. Graves says that is underway.
The cannabis community is vehemently on one side or the other, “Jeannie’s” or “Joy’s”, instead of simply on Jack’s side. This is something that cannot continue. His legacy is being written, right now, and everyone is contributing.
“THE MOST HIGH”: A BOOK UP IN THE AIR
Jack’s upcoming book, The Most High: Plant Secrets of the Gods and Explorations Revealing the End of the World as You Know It, is still a work in progress but it has already caused quite a stir. There is fear among Jack’s supporters that the rights to this unfinished book are not protected.
According to both Chuck and Joy, Jack’s insistence on the Power of Attorney was primarily to protect the future of that book. Jeannie was on the record about not wanting it to be published, and Jack was concerned that while he was away in Europe, something could “happen”, and he wouldn’t rest until he knew the book would be protected.
The notorious would-be co-author of The Most High was apparently the reason behind Jeannie’s dislike of the book. James Arthur Dugovic was author of “Mushrooms and Mankind”, substantiating the bond between he and Jack, as both held amanita muscaria mushrooms in high esteem.
47-year old James Arthur (Dugovic), of Bass Lake, California was arrested in April 2004. Madera County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Erica Stuart told local newspapers that Arthur was a registered sex offender facing new charges of sexual misconduct with children. He was to have appeared in court April 26, 2005 for a preliminary hearing on child molestation charges. He had pleaded not guilty and was held in Madera County Jail on $300,000 bail.
Ten days before his hearing, Arthur was discovered by jailers with a bed sheet tied around his neck. Some suspect foul play, but most do not. Still, the scandal was something Jeannie believed Jack should stay far from, for his own good. That plan indeed has backfired.
Soon after Jack’s heart attack and before Chuck left on the European trip, he asked Joy to sign a contract giving certain book rights for "The Most High" to Eve Lentz, as she had been serving as an editor for Jack. Joy refused to sign.
“It’s Jack’s book – he should be the one to sign or decide anything to do with it, and if people would back off and give him the time and help he wants, he’ll heal and I’d say within a year he can do what he wants with his damn book – and everything else that’s his.”
Jeannie allegedly gained possession of Jack’s notes and research material for the book when she had Jack’s house cleaned out near the end of September.
Graves said, “Jack point-blank asked me to protect that book from Jeannie, no one else. He told me, ‘she’s going to try to stop me, you’ve got to help me, she’s going to go to court and have me declared crazy just to stop me.’ None of us took him seriously, now I realize he was, and why.”
OFFICIALLY, FINANCIALLY A MESS
A thing of the past. That’s what the legend of Jack Herer may be, should the legal eagles out there have their way. Sadly, his very name may be at risk, as the states of Oregon and California wield their authority.
A generous soul, Jack Herer is well known to be open to new ideas, but now Jack’s been opened up to scrutiny with officials searching out any product that bears his name, or reference to him.
Graves said, "I got a call from the state finance officials, saying they had been advised that Jack has been making money without claiming it. They specified each publisher by name, from the Emperor and the Grass books, the body care products, the hats and shirts, etc. by individual product, and the really messed up part of it – the seeds that are named for Jack, and ‘gaining revenue due to Mr. Herer’s name and publicity status’.”
She said that they had the bank account number to his and Jeannie’s joint account, and asked her to explain the statements line by line. “My explanation was simple: I have no access to those accounts. Only Jeannie, and Chuck I suppose, has that access.”
Since then, Jack and Jeannie’s joint checking account has been closed and there is a “Fiduciary Abuse” investigation underway.
The financial responsibility of those in charge of medical care is nothing to be taken lightly. Jack’s costs are no exception; for example, Jack’s transport to the hospital and back to the rehab facility had to be paid before another transport would take place. Chuck Jacobs signed for his transport, but Joy came through and paid the ambulance company so their services would continue.
For all the money that’s been donated to help with Jack’s tragedy, little or none of it is known to have gone to specifically pay for Jack’s needs, Graves said.
According to our research, Joy Graves is the only person in the mix who hasn’t asked for donations, or help for herself, and yet many are seeing her as having an ulterior motive.
“They can have his money, what little there probably is. They can do whatever they want with his belongings if it comes to that. I want Jack to live. None of the rest of this stuff matters to me,” said Graves.
Joy Graves is terminally ill, suffering from bronchial and cardio pulmonary disease (COPD), Parkinsons and wasting syndrome. She is clear that she expects nothing in return for helping Jack.
Jack was fully capable of making his own decisions when he chose Chuck and Joy to represent him. He knew the qualities of each, and felt they were the right team for the job. Whether he had a premonition or just felt it was good business savvy, Jack put his life in the hands of his two friends just hours before it became mandatory. Tenacity, dedication and fortitude is now the test they’re given.
WHERE WILL HE GO FROM HERE?
We have been told that Jack cannot be considered for a “private facility” at this time because his progress has slipped, so his next move must be to a “skilled” facility, a professional environment.
However, since the state has stepped in, the court has assigned Jack a probate attorney, Don Dickman, to represent him. How this affects Jack’s future is yet to be seen.
We understand he has refused to meet with one person who has integral information to the situation at hand, Joy Graves. It seems the court-appointed attorney may be lacking therefore, when it comes to the whole story.
Jeannie Herer has filed for “guardianship” of Jack, which is something the state of California would not abide, but may be allowed in Oregon. Jack’s son, Mark Herer, has filed for conservatorship of Jack’s estate. As Jack is a resident of California, it will be interesting to see what the judge decides to do with this case. Both filings are yet to be heard in Oregon court.
South of where all this is happening, another 500 miles or so, is the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), with a world famous neurological hospital.
The UCSF Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases is one of the best places in the world to find treatment and possible solutions for brain anoxia, such as Jack has experienced.
The symptoms of anoxic brain injury vary, depending on how long a person is deprived of oxygen. Symptoms may include cognitive problems and a lack of coordination. A total lack of oxygen to the brain damages the brain cells in the cortex.
When a person undergoes cardio-pulmonary arrest (heart attack), a loss of consciousness may often occur in 10-15 seconds. For this reason, a person may have irreversible damage of the mind occurring within 5 minutes. Some estimations gave 20 minutes that Jack went without oxygen after his heart attack.
UCSF specifically works to find the causes of human nervous system disorders and improve treatment options. Their scientists apply state-of-the-art translational research methods, and engage in collaborations with colleagues around the globe, including over 100 renowned researchers and clinicians. And, it’s within driving distance to Jack’s house.
In order to be approved for admittance to UCSF, his doctor needs to sign a referral. Once in his home state of California, Jack’s care would be more easily financially managed. Jack would also not have to be transported between doctors’ offices, hospitals and rehabilitation centers… everything would be handled under one roof.
Just a few days ago, on December 15th, Jack had an appointment with his doctor for just that reason, and it was cancelled by Chuck Jacobs. Without the referral signature, Jack cannot seek advanced care at UCSF.
Joy says Jeannie Herer’s petition for guardianship is keeping Jack detained in Oregon. “He needs to be moved back to California right now, to one of the top neurological rehabilitation facilities in our country. California is more open-minded about medicinal cannabis use, there we could ‘discretely yet honorably’ move toward Jack’s accessibility to Rick Simpson Oil."
The guardianship case is actually filed against Jack, as he is the respondent. Apparently the court appointed attorney will represent him, unless his Power of Attorney is allowed to do so. Joy says this is all a moot point, and a stall in getting Jack treatment.
"As a California resident, Jack has full medical insurance waiting for him, and he is a California medical cannabis patient. His house is there, his heart is there, and a team of experts are waiting to help him there.”
“I hope his own attorney sees what’s best for Jack,” Joy said. “I’m just relieved in knowing that his resident state officials are in full support, and are willing to claim jurisdiction."
"So long as California is willing to help protect Jack, not any one of us – just Jack, things should work out right for him.”
At this hour, we are waiting to see the outcome of today’s test. That is, if a doctor is willing to sign Jack’s referral, will Chuck Jacobs give Avamere the thumbs up, so that Jack can move to the next level of care in SanFrancisco?
Time will tell. Merry Christmas, Jack.
By Bonnie King, Salem-News.com – Tuesday, December 22 2009
– Article from Salem-News.com on December 21, 2009.