Tommy Chong And Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero To Speak At Hash Bash

In 1969, former MC-5 band manager John Sinclair was arrested for selling two joints to an undercover officer and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crimes. But, in March of 1972, Michigan Supreme Court justices reversed his sentence, deeming the law used to convict him as unconstitutional. This led to no crime on the Michigan books for pot usage at the time. So, on April 1, 1972 Ann Arbor's Hash Bash was born.

44 years later, it's still going strong, every first Saturday of April. The event has drawn activists, authors, politicians, musicians, hippies-of-all-kinds, and thousands of stoners to The University of Michigan's Diag. Next weekend will get some star power with some local flavor. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero is scheduled to appear as a speaker, and longtime activist, comedian, and musician Tommy Chong is as well. Republican State Representative Mike Callton of Nashville, MI and Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel are also among the scheduled guests.

The event begins at 12:00PM and runs until 2:00PM at The Diag in the heart of U-of-M. After the rally, you can hit the private streets of Ann Arbor and check out the festivities of the Monroe Street Fair, just south of campus, for live music, comedy, and other events. (REMEMBER, pot is still illegal according to state and federal law. Though it's decriminalized to a fine in Ann Arbor for usage, the university seeks charges in accordance with state law.)