'Up In Smoke' Actress Dead -- June Fairchild Dies from Cancer

June Fairchild -- the actress best known for her iconic Ajax snorting scene in "Up In Smoke" -- has died at 68 ... and friends are hoping her former Cheech & Chong co-stars can help with her funeral costs.

Fairchild had a big movie career in the '70s -- besides 'Smoke' ... she appeared in "Head" with The Monkees ... and "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" with Clint Eastwood.

She's also widely credited for naming the band "Three Dog Night" ... while dating lead singer Danny Hutton.

June was put in hospice care over the weekend, and died Tuesday night after a long battle with liver cancer.

Sources close to Fairchild tell us her last few years were difficult financially. She'd been homeless for several years. We're told her friends are reaching out to Tommy Chong to see if he can pitch in for her funeral and burial expenses.