Today on Hempresent Vivian is joined by American poet, writer and radio maker, John Sinclair. John made incalculable contributions to cannabis legalization and is celebrated as a heroic icon of American counterculture and of cannabis activism in particular. After he was arrested for giving two joints to an undercover narcotics officer in 1969 he was sentenced to the unusual punishment of 10 years for mere possession. John's arrest and cruel sentence sparked the landmark 'Free John Now Rally' held in Ann Arbour, December 1971. Due to the continued pressure to release John, by his friends on the outside and his own campaigning, a huge event was planned to include John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Stevie Wonder, David Peel, Pete Seeger, Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffmann, Jerry Rubin, and others. John Lennon recorded and dedicated the song "John Sinclair" to the cause, and included it on his album 'Some Time in New York City' (1972).