50 years ago, the Beatles were already campaigning for the legalization of cannabis

It was July 24, 1967. The Beatles, rock icons who left their mark on several generations, were already campaigning to legalize cannabis, alongside other British celebrities and notable figures.

According to the music website Ultimate Classic Rock, the famous Liverpool band and their manager Brian Epstein were among the signatories of a full-page advertisement in the newspaper The London Times, dated July 24, 1967. No fewer than 64 signatories had signed the petition calling for reform of cannabis laws in the United Kingdom.

A page from The London Times, July 24, 1967. Fifty years ago, The Beatles and other public figures were already calling for cannabis laws to be reformed.

«The law against cannabis is immoral in principle and unworkable in practice.»

This announcement was made following the arrest of John Hopkins, a famous English photographer and journalist, for possession of cannabis. During his trial, he stated that cannabis «was harmless and that the law needed to be changed.» He was sentenced to nine months in prison. In the wake of this event, The Beatles sought to draw attention to the issue in order to demonstrate that they considered the country’s public policies to be unnecessarily harsh.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison signed this petition, stating that cannabis is «the least harmful of all drugs and, above all, less harmful than alcohol.» This ad aimed to show that, in addition to calling for legal reform, cannabis was not just for the stereotypical “stoner,” but that people from diverse backgrounds could use it.

«Cannabis use is widespread on college campuses, and the practice has been adopted by writers, teachers, doctors, businesspeople, musicians, scientists, and priests. These people do not fit the stereotype of the unemployed criminal,» the op-ed states.

Although the text was not followed by any real reform of cannabis laws, it sparked a public debate that led to some modest changes. For example, the 1971 British Act on the  Drug Abuse has been amended. The maximum prison sentence for simple possession of cannabis had increased from ten to five years.

Mehdi Bautier