Stoner4Life
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Tommy Chong, one half of the legendary comedy duo Cheech and Chong, exudes as much serenity sipping on a cup of coffee in a downtown hotel as one might expect from a lifelong pothead.
But three years ago, the Canadian-born Chong had good reason to freak out - agents for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency burst into his California home and busted him for selling bongs online, the first time an obscure law dealing with such offences had ever been enforced.
In his new book The I Chong: Meditations From The Joint ( Simon and Schuster ), Chong insists the feds came after him, at the behest of the Bush administration, because he'd frequently spoken out against the war on terror and the erosion of civil liberties after 9-11.
"I was the first one they'd ever charged under that law," says the 68-year-old Chong, in Toronto promoting his book. "Symbolically, I represented the antiwar movement. I represented the hippies.
"And they're scared to death of the hippies, because the hippies are the ones who stopped the Vietnam War."
That's not just nostalgic bluster from Chong, who was introduced to a new generation of fans when he played aging stoner Leo on That '70s Show. Of the 55 people charged under the "Operation Pipe Dreams" sweep in early 2003, Chong was one of the very few who was sentenced to hard time. Most were sentenced to fines and home detentions.
In last year's documentary A/k/a Tommy Chong, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, comedian and social commentator Bill Maher, among many others, accused the U.S. government of making an example out of Chong for petty political reasons.
But thanks in part to his spirituality and, undoubtedly, his unabashed appreciation of the calming effects of marijuana, Chong approached his sentence with good humour. He says he didn't mind his nine months in prison because it allowed him to focus primarily on writing the book.
"If you're a guy like me, it's not so bad ... I'm an old man, I'm a writer and I'm writing my book, I'm Tommy Chong, and I'm doing time with my fans," he says.
Newshawk: Stoner4Life - 420 Magazine
Source: Barrie Examiner (CN ON)
Pubdate: Wed, 27 Sep 2006
Author:
Copyright: 2006, Osprey Media Group Inc
Contact: mbeaudin@thebarrieexaminer.com
Website: Osprey Media. - The Barrie Examiner
But three years ago, the Canadian-born Chong had good reason to freak out - agents for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency burst into his California home and busted him for selling bongs online, the first time an obscure law dealing with such offences had ever been enforced.
In his new book The I Chong: Meditations From The Joint ( Simon and Schuster ), Chong insists the feds came after him, at the behest of the Bush administration, because he'd frequently spoken out against the war on terror and the erosion of civil liberties after 9-11.
"I was the first one they'd ever charged under that law," says the 68-year-old Chong, in Toronto promoting his book. "Symbolically, I represented the antiwar movement. I represented the hippies.
"And they're scared to death of the hippies, because the hippies are the ones who stopped the Vietnam War."
That's not just nostalgic bluster from Chong, who was introduced to a new generation of fans when he played aging stoner Leo on That '70s Show. Of the 55 people charged under the "Operation Pipe Dreams" sweep in early 2003, Chong was one of the very few who was sentenced to hard time. Most were sentenced to fines and home detentions.
In last year's documentary A/k/a Tommy Chong, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, comedian and social commentator Bill Maher, among many others, accused the U.S. government of making an example out of Chong for petty political reasons.
But thanks in part to his spirituality and, undoubtedly, his unabashed appreciation of the calming effects of marijuana, Chong approached his sentence with good humour. He says he didn't mind his nine months in prison because it allowed him to focus primarily on writing the book.
"If you're a guy like me, it's not so bad ... I'm an old man, I'm a writer and I'm writing my book, I'm Tommy Chong, and I'm doing time with my fans," he says.
Newshawk: Stoner4Life - 420 Magazine
Source: Barrie Examiner (CN ON)
Pubdate: Wed, 27 Sep 2006
Author:
Copyright: 2006, Osprey Media Group Inc
Contact: mbeaudin@thebarrieexaminer.com
Website: Osprey Media. - The Barrie Examiner
