Comedian Tommy Chong Gets Nine Months on Paraphernalia Charges

Assoiciated Press ^ | Sept. 11, 2003 | Dan Nephin

[Wolfie]

Comedian Tommy Chong Gets Nine Months on Paraphernalia Charges

Pittsburgh — Tommy Chong, who played one half of the dope-smoking duo in Cheech and Chong movies, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison and fined $20,000 on Thursday for selling bongs and other drug paraphernalia over the Internet.

The 65-year-old Chong was allowed to remain free until federal prison officials tell him in a few weeks where he must report to prison.

Chong also forfeited about $100,000 for his arrest on federal drug paraphernalia charges. He'll spend a year on probation after he's released from prison.

Chong's business, Nice Dreams Enterprises, which made a line of marijuana bongs and pipes, was to be sentenced later Thursday.

Chong pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to sell drug paraphernalia and also pleaded guilty on behalf of Nice Dreams Enterprises, which did business under the name Chong Glass.

Chong's plea came after federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents purchased his paraphernalia and had them shipped to an undercover business in Beaver Falls, a city northwest of Pittsburgh. Agents also confiscated his company's paraphernalia during raids of "head shops" in numerous states and confiscated "thousands of marijuana bongs and pipes" in a raid of his Gardena, Calif., business.

His plea followed a series of raids in February by the DEA in which at least 55 people were charged with trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia. Federal officials said the investigation targeted the nation's biggest Internet distributors of paraphernalia.

Prosecutors said Chong was the first person to plead guilty in the raids.

The actor-comedian recently had a recurring role on Fox's "That '70s Show."

[mountaineer]

Not necessary.

[Modernman]

I don't understand how the government can outlaw an object and the selling of that object if it has a legal use? He was not supplying the actual drugs. Just stupid, a waste of money.

There are those who wish to apply the same logic to guns.

Bingo- beat me to it.

But, think of the children.... Won't someone please think of the children?

[PaxMacian]

Check out Jock Sturges or Sally Mann.

[Wolfie]

Better safe than sorry. Its the American Way. Wouldn't want to get caught coloring outside the lines.

[MrLeRoy]

I think the children need protection from Osama more than from Tommy Chong.

[Skooz]

I wish I could remember all the words to "The Bust." All I can remember is "Apriiiiiilllll Fooooolsss! Hey man, did you think I was a cop? What are you cryin' for man?"

[cajun-jack]

way back yonder, i had several friends that absolutely, positively did NOT smoke dope, but love to buy different looking roach clips with feathers and such and clip them to their hatbands (they were rodeo nuts). One day a new cop in the small town in which we lived told them that is was paraphenalia and he could arrest them for having them in their possession.

They said ok...tell ya what dude go in their and arrest the owner of the only diner in town for having drug paraphanelia....they said she has a bottle of toothpicks on every table and everyone we know that smokes dope, breaks a toothpick in half to use as a clip. Either that or a bobby pin, so arrest every lady you see with bobby pins in her hair.

Barney got upset over this and tried to make a fuss, till someone explained to him just how easy it would be to dispose of his body in the local swamp.

He had no more problems with roach clips after that...Now remember this was in a small town (700 pop) in very rural NE louisiana about 20 or so yrs ago....barney had a "come to Jesus" meeting and saw the error of his ways.

[Protagoras]

I feel so much safer now.

You beat me to it.

[Modernman]

Wow, that's a tough one: work, church and family time - or smoking dope? What to do, what to do?

Hey, do whatever you want- if church is your thing, more power to you. My idea of a good time might be different and, as long as my vices harm only myself and other willing participants, why would you care?

[PaxMacian]

"Ashcroft is a puritanical fundamentalist fanatic. "

So right! He is worse than the islamic fundamentalist terrorists because he has real power.

[bc2]

an unjust law is no law, that is what Thomas Jefferson said, and I agree. Pistol permits, the assault weapons ban, smoking bans, tax codes... there are thousands and thousands of examples of unjust laws that should not be followed.

with the overcrowding of prisons in this country largely due to increasing incarceration of individuals for nonviolent drug related offenses, I can only wonder if a rapist, murderer, or other violent thug was let out of prison early to make room for Tommy Chong.

A guy who sold some bongs.

Truly sad.

[Wolfie]

I wonder if Tommy will get to go to a nice "Club Fed" minimal security facility, like the Enron guy who plead guilty to helping bilk investors out of millions of dollars.

[Modernman]

think the children need protection from Osama more than from Tommy Chong.

I don't know, pot-smokers are well-known for their terroristic tendencies (eating all the oreos in the house being one of their lesser crimes) </sarcasm

[mountaineer]

I don't care what you do.

[jayef]

Would you say the same applies to a hookah?

[DumpsterDiver]

If the prosecutor in this jurisdiction has the time to run a sting on bong sales by a 65 year old pop icon, I hope there are no unsolved murders, rapes, thefts, etc. in that locale.

I live near Gardena where Tommy's business was. Gardena is in L.A. county.

Since I live here, I can assure you that we have no crime problems more pressing than busting Chong's Bongs, Inc. [my name for the place]. /sarcasm

[Skooz]

He is worse than the islamic fundamentalist terrorists because he has real power.

Yeah, as evidenced by the piles of dead women and children he has killed via suicide bombing and crashing airliners into loaded skyscrapers.

[jayef]

That's where I was going with my post 54. Sorry, I see you've already gone there. Thanks for your continued counterattack on this stupidity.

[jayef]

Post 55, sorry.

[Frank_Discussion]

No, because they are NOT built specifically for illegal actions but claimed otherwise. Guns are like basball bats in that respect - they're MEANT for a game, but CAN be used to harm someone or destroy property. Bongs are for smoking dope, which is illegal.

As I said before, though, and lots of folks are missing it, I actually respect TChong for taking his lumps on this. If he wants to make a bigger issue out of it, then maybe he should. But he DID break the law, despite its disputed constitutionality.