DETROIT

Funeral arrangements set for marijuana activist John Sinclair

Charles E. Ramirez
The Detroit News
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Funeral arrangements have been made for Metro Detroit marijuana activist John Sinclair.

A funeral service is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, 4454 Woodward Avenue at Garfield Street in Detroit, Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors in Clawson said.

John Sinclair, a poet and marijuana activist pictured in 1968, became the face of the movement to legalize marijuana in Michigan in the 1960s and the 1970s. "When I said marijuana should be legalized in (mid 1960s), they thought I was just talking jibberish," said Sinclair. "8% supported legalization of marijuana. Now it’s 67."

A reception will follow at Trinosophes, 1464 Gratiot near Riopelle Street in Detroit.

Sinclair, a champion of legal marijuana, a counterculture hero and a poet, died Tuesday at Detroit Receiving Hospital of congestive heart failure. He was 82.

An influential activist best known for his fight toward legalizing marijuana, Sinclair was also band manager for the MC5.

The Davison native was also a champion of civil rights and co-founder of the radical anti-racist group the White Panther Party.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez

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