TOMMY CHONG WILL BE FREE IN PRISON

I feel genuine shock and sorrow upon the news that Tommy Chong is going to
prison for nine months. At the same time I am joyful. For one thing, the
only other prominent American who up till now is serving a newsworthy jail
term for a paraphernalia conviction is Chris Hill, who was such an
outspoken Young Republican that it was hard to garner much sympathy for him
even within the tobacco accessories industry. There was always a bit of
schadenfreude whenever Hill's fourteen month stint at the Eglin prison
facility was mentioned. Tommy Chong is a different story.

I enjoyed Cheech and Chong as I was growing up in the seventies and still
own one of those gatefold album-sized Big Bambu rolling papers. I was no
stoner (but counted many among my friends) and found the comedy duo's
routine fun although silly. But, like the late humorist Lenny Bruce, they
shocked and broke new ground in comedy. It became not only acceptable but
fashionable to joke about marijuana and its many effects not only on
college campuses but in Las Vegas and beyond. Cheech and Chong proclaimed
that the world was full of pot smoking fools and we were free to recognize
our own spacey smoky dumbassedness and not be ashamed.

When Tommy Chong re-appeared in the television series That Seventies Show
and in the marijuana classic Half-Baked, it was a triumphant return. He
neither glorified the druggy life or condemned it; it was simply the
endearing role of a character which he had always played, like the
perpetually drunk Otis in the Andy Griffith Show a generation ago.

Chong continued to use the character and his personal belief in the
goodness of marijuana when he lent his name to a glass pipe company as well
as a drug detox product. Both Nice Dreams Enterprises (operating as Chong
Glass) and Tommy Chong's Urine Luck were successful tax-paying companies.
Both advertised openly in consumer magazines like High Times and in
industry publications such as HeadQuest (which has since the paraphernalia
crackdown turned its attention and advertising toward the tattoo and body
piercing business). Like dozens of other glass companies, Chong Glass
operated as an above-board corporation and Tommy Chong must have thought
that he was free to do so.

When Operations Pipe Dreams and Headhunter swooped down from the DEA at
outrageous taxpayer expense last winter, 55 of the more prominent
paraphernalia company owners were arrested and Chong was not spared. Months
of speculation followed among the storekeepers and wholesalers followed.
Many waited for the sentences to be handed down before marking down their
wares and getting out of the pipe business altogether. Some went ahead and
closed voluntarily. Some were confident that, because the government had
targeted the wealthier of the glass dealers, there would be money and
topnotch lawyers to fight the good fight.

The details of Tommy Chong's court date were all over the Internet by
September 12th, the day after his sentencing. Guilty. Nine months,
imprisonment, a $20K fine, and $100K in forfeited assets.

Chong's attorney Richard Hirsch had offered the court a deal for leniency:
Chong would repudiate his involvement with marijuana and the bong industry
and promised to spend his probation making appearances speaking against
drug use. The judge said no dice.

Thank you, Judge Schwab.

Because of the court's refusal to accept this devil's bargain to turn Tommy
Chong into another horrible Just Say No advertising shill for the
Partnership for a Drug Free America, Chong is a free man. For the mere
price of nine months in jail, he can spend the rest of his life as a hero
for libertarian ideals. He doesn't have to kiss John Ashcroft's ass. He
doesn't have to be a liar and a hypocrite. Like those who went to jail and
endured the blacklist during the McCarthy Era, Chong can maintain his
integrity in these increasingly right-wing Big Brother times. He can use
this imprisonment to publicize the punishment inflicted by our government
for a non-violent crime which has harmed no one.

Henry David Thoreau said that those who are in prison are in essence the
most free.

Face the future with grace and courage, Tommy. Your jail sentence will only
add to the authenticity of the beloved character you have delighted us with
for decades. The youth of America are depending on you to tell the truth
about marijuana. Do the right thing for all of us.


Pubdate: Tue, 16 Sep 2003
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Webpage: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=3D16790
Copyright: 2003 Independent Media Institute
Contact: letters@alternet.org
Website: http://www.alternet.org/