Once referred to as "Germany's most exciting cyber-shamanic-psychedelic-performing publisher" by Timothy Leary, publisher, author, editor, and former hash and LSD dealer Werner Pieper has been outspoken on a wide range of counterculture events and phenomena for over 30 years. His publishing company Grüne Kraft - MedienXperimente (Grüne Kraft means "Green Power"), founded in 1971 in Heidelberg, has produced many of the German-language editions of English-language books and articles related to psychoactives plants and drugs, as well as some of the earliest writings about environmental awareness in Germany. As a dedicated researcher interested in unusual and overlooked cultural phenomena -- he's been described as a "pop culture archaeologist" -- Pieper has authored over thirty books and produced pamphlets, magazines and CDs.

His non-publishing projects have included founding Grüne Hilfe, an organization dedicated to providing cannabis-related legal information and help, and a 1996 international conference on Prisoners of the Drug War in Heidelberg. Along with his keen interest in censorship and copyright issues, Pieper has an eccentric approach to publishing based on trust -- he has never signed any contracts with authors, who always retain rights to their work. An English edition of his latest book, on the use of methamphetamine during the Third Reich, is forthcoming.