'Smoke-in' draws hundreds despite push for virtual Hash Bash

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of people protested state and federal marijuana laws Saturday in Ann Arbor, despite public health orders limiting gatherings. The participants in Saturday’s “smoke-in” protest split from organizers of the Hash Bash, who made the event virtual in 2020 and again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLive.com reported. It’s typically held on the University of Michigan Diag and has drawn thousands of people in recent years to smoke marijuana while a line-up of speakers and musicians address the crowd. The annual event started in 1972.