Festival organizers and local officials in Ann Arbor, Michigan are busy preparing for the 50th anniversary Hash Bash, a celebration of cannabis scheduled to return to the University of Michigan on April 2 after two years of virtual festivities.

Since 1972, pot enthusiasts and activists have taken to an open area on the UM campus known as the Diag to protest cannabis prohibition. And even with the legalization of recreational weed in Michigan in 2018, the event still serves to shine light on the nation’s failed cannabis policies. 

The last two years, however, in-person festivities were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual events were held online instead. Now, with vaccines readily available and the pandemic appearing to be waning, Hash Bash will be returning to fill the air above the Diag with clouds of smoke once again.

It promises to be a welcome return for Ann Arbor businesses that provide goods and services to the happily high revelers. Frances Todoro-Hargreaves, executive director of the State Street District, said that Hash Bash is one of the best business days of the year for merchants in the downtown area, especially for restaurants and other food vendors.

“Anything that brings people downtown, especially a traditional thing like Hash Bash, is good for the community,” Todoro-Hargreaves told MLive.

Because Hash Bash takes place on the university campus, the city of Ann Arbor does not have jurisdiction over the event itself. Nonetheless, city officials are busy preparing for next month’s return of the pro-cannabis festival, including making plans to suspend sidewalk occupancy permits and peddler licenses to ease congestion in the area surrounding the Diag. Debra Williams, the city’s special events coordinator, said in a memo to the city council that this year’s Hash Bash will include a four-point safety plan put in place by organizers to help keep people safe from COVID-19.

“The organizers had originally planned to have live bands, but will defer that activity for another year to try to prevent gathering in one place for prolonged periods of time to help ensure safety,” Williams wrote in the memo.

In addition to canceling live music performances, organizers will use signage to strongly urge people attending this year’s Hash Bash to wear masks and practice social distancing. Attendees will also be encouraged to frequently use hand-washing stations placed throughout the festival area. In addition, free face masks and hand sanitizer will be available at the information booth and vendors will be required to provide hand sanitizer to customers and to have side walls between adjacent vending tents.

A 50-Year History

Pot activists organized the first Hash Bash in April 1972 to celebrate a Michigan Supreme Court decision that declared unconstitutional the state’s felony cannabis law, which led to a 10-year prison sentence imposed on poet John Sinclair for possessing two joints. The inaugural event, dubbed the Hash Festival, saw about 150 activists gather on the Diag, according to a police estimate given to the Ann Arbor News. The newspaper reported that the festival was orderly, with no arrests and no obvious pot smoking.

“We don’t know if it was a hash festival or not,” Police Chief Walter Krasny said at the time. “We didn’t find any great evidence that anything unusual was going on.”

The account given by the campus newspaper the Michigan Daily, however, varied significantly. Its report included a photograph of a “happy toker” and a headline that declared, “Cops stand by as kids get high.”

“Despite freezing temperatures, intermittent snow showers and the possibility of arrest, some 500 hardy souls ventured out to the diag yesterday for the First Annual Hash Festival,” wrote the Michigan Daily.

Over the years and with sales of recreational cannabis now legal in Michigan, the Hash Bash has become a celebration of all things cannabis. But organizers, speakers and events preserve the activist history of the festival. Democratic state Representative Yousef Rabhi, a frequent Hash Bash speaker, said in a social media post last week that he is working for continued cannabis reform in Michigan.

“Despite the passage of Adult Use Cannabis laws in Michigan, marijuana is still legally listed as a schedule 1 substance in our state. Which means it is among the substances that carry the highest criminal penalties,” Rabhi wrote on Facebook. 

“This has a cascading impact that continues to criminalize cannabis in a number of settings and further perpetuates injustices. Yesterday, I introduced what I’m calling the ‘John Sinclair Act’ (HB 5877) to fully deschedule cannabis from the list of scheduled substances. There is no good reason for us to keep criminalizing a plant that is legal in our state.”

This year’s in-person Hash Bash, featuring a group smokeout on the Diag on 12 p.m. on April 2, will be the first since regulated, recreational sales began in Michigan in December 2019. Eric Franco, president of Michigan vertically integrated cannabis operator COMCO Wellness, says that the newly legal industry is ready to celebrate with the state’s cannabis enthusiasts.

“We are excited about the upcoming Hash Bash as it represents the coming together of people who believe in choice, in marihuana as a wellness product, and as a reflection of those individuals and groups who have long stood tall and proud in making this community one of strong voice, unity and justice,” Franco said in an email to High Times. “We are looking forward to being a part of the gathering at High Noon on April 2 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hash Bash Festival!”

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In a High Times exclusive, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong announced today Cheech and Chong’s Chronicles: A Brief History of Weed, co-written by the iconic duo, and published by Z2 Comics. It’s their first graphic novel, released just ahead of the duo’s 50th anniversary.

Cheech and Chong’s Chronicles: A Brief History of Weed will be released in a soft and hardcover editions in finer comic shops and bookstores on April 20, 2022. 

The comic book is also available to preorder now as soft cover, hardcover and an oversized slipcase deluxe format with wraparound cover art by Bob Fingerman, as well as a matching slipmat, and print set featuring work from Rick Veitch (Swamp Thing), Jim Mahfood (Spider-Man) and Jason Gonzalez. A third and hyper-limited platinum edition will also be available in a one-time signed edition with special packaging.

“I’m so excited for everyone to see this amazing work from so many talented artists bringing to life the legend of Cheech & Chong,” Chong told High Times. “I can’t wait to share this with all my fans.”

The graphic novel presents a fictionalized history sharing pot’s documented influence on significant people and events throughout time—including Frida Kahlo, Muhammed Ali and Napoleon Bonaparte, to name a few. Its Sgt. Pepper’s-esque painted cover showcases these heroes in their full glory.

The book was created in a partnership with comedian and comics writer Eliot Rahal (A Robot’s Tale, Machine Gun Kelly’s Hotel Diablo) and artist Noah Van Sciver (Grateful Dead: Origins, Fante Bukowski).

Totally broke and completely dry of weed—Pedro de Pacas (Cheech Marin) and Anthony “Man” Stoner (Tommy Chong)—are in bad shape, until they get a call that changes their lives. Cheech’s old friend, a casino manager in Reno, Nevada, needs an emergency opening act for his stage show. If they can make it into town, the job is theirs. 

“Hey man, how’s my driving?” Cheech said. 

“I thought I was driving?!”  Chong replied. 

The duo’s American road trip to score “a**, grass and cash” quickly transforms into a “reefer-fueled toke through time.” This original graphic novel from Z2 Comics is the “real” history of cannabis seen through the eyes of Cheech and Chong. The two have been making us laugh for a solid 50 years.

Z2 Comics are purveyors of graphic biographies depicting pop culture legends such as The Grateful Dead, Beethoven, John Lee Hooker and Charlie “Bird” Parker. Z2 Comics has collaborated with estates of countless other artists, leading to graphic novels about Cypress Hill, adorned with fan leaves, and Sublime, with an extra-trippy cover design. Z2 Comics is the first place to go if you’re looking for music-inspired comic books.

Comics and Chronic History with Cheech and Chong

Pot-friendly comic books—like Larry Flynt and High Times’ Thomas King Forçade—pushed the boundaries of what could be published in print format. This battle was mostly won long ago.

Dating back to several years before the first issue of High Times—comic books have shared a special relationship with cannabis. Publishing comics about pot was a battle worth fighting.

Underground hippie comics took off in the late 1960s with works like The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (recently revived in a series) with Gilbert Shelton and Zap Comix with Robert Crumb. A wave of pot-friendly comic book artists emerged, including S. Clay Wilson, Robert Williams and “Spain” Rodriguez, crossing over with psychedelic poster artists Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin.

Comic books pushed the boundaries of censorship, teaching a generation how to roll joints and grow weed plants. 1968’s Feds N’ Heads by Shelton accurately depicted a peyote trip creeping up, for instance, and became a board game magazine insert. 1969’s Zap Comix #4 precipitated an obscenity case that reached the Supreme Court, with a comic book seller eventually winning. 

High Times’ own Paul Kirchner continued this style with “Dope Rider” beginning in the mid-seventies, still published in the magazine today. 

Cheech and Chong’s Chronicles: A Brief History of Weed carries the torch of cannabis-friendly comic books, updated for a new generation. It’s a great way to learn about the colorful history of pot, including the plant’s influence on notable heroes.

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