In July 1969 radical activist John Sinclair was sentenced to prison for 10 years for possession of two marijuana cigarettes. He became a national symbol for the counter-culture's struggle for fair and reasonable drug laws. Two-and-a-half years of legal and political battles culminated in Ann Arbor in 1971, when 15,000 people attended the Free John Now Rally headlined by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, where John performed the song "John Sinclair." Just three days later, the Michigan supreme Court ordered Sinclair released.

  John Sinclair
    by John Lennon

It ain't fair, John Sinclair
In the stir of breathing air
Won't you care for John Sinclair?
In the stair of breathing air
. Let him be, set him free
Let him be like you and me.

They give him ten for two
What else can the judges do?
Gotta, gotta.....gotta, set him free.

If he had been a soldier man
Shooting gooks in Vietnam
If he was the CIA
Selling dope and making hay
He'd be free, they'd let him be
Breathing air, like you and me

They gave me ten for two
What more can the judges do?
Gotta, gotta....gottta set him free.

Was he jailed for what he done?

Representing everyone
Free john now, if we can
From the clutches oof the man
Let him free, lift the lid
Bring him to his wife and kids.
They gave me ten for two

What more can the bastards do?
Gotta, gotta...gotta set him free...

  John Lennon had his problems with police harassment because of his use of marijuana while living in London.
Detective Sergeant Norman "Nobby" Pilcher, who built his drug squad career targeting musicians, including Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Eric Clapton and Donovan, finally turned his attention to the biggest prize of all - a Beatle - and in October 1968 busted John Lennon for some hashish found by a police dog. After the Free John Sinclair concert, Richard Nixon had the FBI spy on the Lennons and directed the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to kick Lennon out of the country, using his previous drug conviction as justification. Nixon was concerned that Lennon was becoming a major leader in the anti-war movement. Nixon's political strategists also believed Lennon would draw huge crowds of anti-Nixon demonstraters to the next Republican Convention.

Semolina pilchard, climbing up the
Eiffel tower
Elementary penguin singing
Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking
Edgar Allan Poe

- I Am the Walrus, Lennon/McCartney
 "Semolina pilchard" a reference to Detective Sergeant Pilcher?
Pilcher was subsequently jailed for corruption because of his practices in the drug squad.