A smoke-in is a protest in favor of
cannabis rights
Cannabis rights or marijuana rights (sometimes more specifically cannabis consumer rights or stoner rights) are individual civil rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free from emplo ...
or more specifically
legalization of cannabis.
The
Youth International Party
The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on D ...
(YIP) organized "smoke-ins" across North America through the 1970s and into the 1980s. The first YIP smoke-in was attended by 25,000 in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 1970.
There was a culture clash when many of the hippie protesters strolled en masse into the nearby "Honor America Day" festivities with
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...
and
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
.
On August 7, 1971, a Yippie smoke-in in Vancouver was attacked by police, resulting in the
Gastown Riot, one of the most famous protests in Canadian history.
The annual July 4 Yippie smoke-in in Washington, D.C., became a counterculture tradition. Other smoke-ins as protests for cannabis law reform have been held in the 1960s in London; and through the 1990s at least at the U.S. Capitol, and in and around Austin, Texas.
See also
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420 (cannabis culture)
420, 4:20 or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is cannabis culture slang for cannabis consumption, especially smoking around the time 4:20 p.m. (16:20). It also refers to cannabis-oriented celebrations that take place annually on April 20 (4/ ...
References
Sources
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External links
{{Cannabis
Cannabis events
Direct action
Yippies