In 1967 John Hopkins was sentenced to 9 months in prison for possession of cannabis. John Hopkins was a founding member of the International Times counter-culture magazine, the UFO Club and the 24hour Technicolor Dream and, as such, a central figure to the hippy scene. As a result of his arrest, a number of people formed a protest which resulted in the publication of this advertisement in The Times newspaper. The advert makes claims for the positive nature of cannabis and calls for changes in the laws. There are a number of signatories to the advert from amongst the medical profession as well as artists and musicians. Perhaps most significant are the signatures of The Beatles and Brian Epstein. Paul McCartney paid for the advert to be run in the newspaper.