The Washington, D.C., July 4 “Smoke-In” is a marijuana legalization protest that the Yippies (the Youth International Party) began on July 4, 1970, and held near the White House for decades; on July 4, 2011, at what our original report called the 42nd annual gathering, a protester was tackled and arrested by U.S. Park Police, according to our original report and the video it shared. The event is a reminder that in the capital, most protest ground is federal parkland, where federal drug law applies no matter what the city decides.
What Happened
Our July 2011 post shared a video, which no longer plays, showing roughly a dozen officers and a police van involved in arresting a woman at the smoke-in, an operation we estimated took 10 minutes. We could not find any news coverage or Park Police statement about that arrest, so her name, the charge and the outcome are not documented. What is well documented is the tradition she was part of.
Background: The Yippie Smoke-In
The first Yippie smoke-in drew a large crowd to Washington on July 4, 1970; Yippie organizer Dana Beal later put attendance at 25,000, according to the history of the smoke-in. That day was also Honor America Day, a patriotic rally on the National Mall organized by supporters of President Richard Nixon, co-chaired by Bob Hope and featuring Billy Graham. Many of the long-haired protesters wandered into the official festivities, a culture clash that made the smoke-in famous.
The Yippies, founded by Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and others in the late 1960s, made the smoke-in an annual July 4 event, usually in Lafayette Park across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, with music and speeches. The Washington Post covered it in years such as 1978 (“Demonstration By Yippies Is Mostly Quiet”) and 1979 (“Yippies Turn On”). Smoke-ins spread to other cities through the 1970s and 1980s, and a 1971 Yippie smoke-in in Vancouver ended in the Gastown Riot. By 2011 the D.C. gathering was a small remnant of the 1970s crowds.
Why Arrests Kept Happening
Lafayette Park, the Ellipse and the National Mall are run by the National Park Service and patrolled by the U.S. Park Police. Federal park regulations, 36 CFR 2.35, prohibit possessing controlled substances in park areas, and marijuana remains a federal controlled substance. In 2011, D.C. law also still made possession a crime, so a smoke-in on federal land was civil disobedience under both systems.
What Happened Next
The city changed; the federal land did not. D.C. decriminalized possession in July 2014, and voters’ Initiative 71 legalized possession and home growing for adults in February 2015. Neither law applies on federal property. Activists from DCMJ, the group behind Initiative 71, kept staging smoke-ins to pressure Congress; on April 24, 2017, U.S. Capitol Police arrested four people, including co-founder Adam Eidinger, at a smoke-in at the Capitol, calling possession there a violation of federal law.
Where It Stands in 2026
Adults 21 and over can possess and grow marijuana under D.C. law, but smoking in public is still illegal in the District, and possession on federal parkland can still bring a federal citation or arrest. For the current rules, see our Washington, D.C. marijuana laws guide and federal marijuana laws. More protest history is in our marijuana history section.
D.C. July 4 Smoke-In FAQ
When did the D.C. July 4 smoke-in start?
The Yippies held the first one on July 4, 1970, the same day as the pro-Nixon Honor America Day rally on the National Mall.
Where was the smoke-in held?
For most of its history in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, which is federal land patrolled by the U.S. Park Police.
Can you smoke marijuana on the National Mall now?
No. D.C.’s Initiative 71 does not apply on federal property, and federal park rules prohibit possessing controlled substances. Public smoking is also illegal under D.C. law.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.