Tommy Chong Enters Federal Plea In Pittsburgh PITTSBURGH, 5:59 p.m. EDT May 13, 2003 - Actor-comedian Tommy Chong pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal drug charges stemming from a nationwide drug sweep in February, WTAE's Jake Ploeger reported. Chong, best known for the "Cheech And Chong" movies of the 1970s and 1980s, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia and offer drug paraphernalia for sale. The maximum penalty is three years in jail. In exchange for his plea, Chong will likely receive a lesser sentence of six to 12 months. The case is part of "Operation Pipe Dreams," a national drug crackdown which Attorney General John Ashcroft said stretches from Pittsburgh to Phoenix to southern California. Prosecutors said Chong sold bongs, pipes and other items used to smoke mar1juana on a Web site from September 2001 to February 2003. The items were distributed to stores across the country, including several in western Pennsylvania, prosecutors said. Agents said Chong's company, Nice Dreams Enterprises, manufactured and distributed assorted paraphernalia under the name Chong Glass. The Drug Enforcement Administration set up a local sting through a front in Beaver Falls called Thompson Novelties and purchased $6,000 worth of items. Federal agents raided Chong's California business in February. They said they found financial records linking Chong to the bong sales. Chong is free on his own recognizance. He must return to Pittsburgh for a sentencing hearing on Sept. 11. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In addition to this story, a co-worker also heard that Chong might be reuniting with Cheech Marin to record a new album. I hope this might lead to another movie..."Up In Smoke...Relit".
I bet this becomes a "test" case. I don't think a law can punish a manufacturer if a customer uses a product illegally. For example, it's already been shown that you can't sue a gun manufacturer for a criminal's use of a gun. Likewise you can't sue a car manufacturer if someone runs someone else over (or Mercedes would be in trouble! a la Clara Harris) and they just ruled you couldn't sue those Gnutella client manufacturers either. You could argue that guns and cars are not designed from the getgo to be used illegally and bongs are but I think you could argue that Gnutella software is designed for the illigal swapping of copywrited material and it's not illigal. Bongs aren't for dope. They are just water pipes. Right? This is a bad law.
Thats so Bogus. Like you walk into Houston 420 and the guy freaks out when you ask for a "bong" and not a "water pipe". Same damn thing, same damn purpose. All "water pipes" should be outlawed in that case.
I think the logic is a.) some small percent of terrorists make money off of drugs ( for instance the FARC guys in Columbia who are fighting a *civil* war versus the government or the Taliban b.) by suppressing drug sales (not) by busting (sp)paraphenelia dealers, lowers demand. It's too hard to bust terrorists in the US, so there going to do the morality thing for publicity, it's what Ashcroft's always done. At least domestic terrorists will soon be able to arm themselves with AK-47's.
No Doubt, doesn't he have some more important issues to focus on? They probably took a good 2 months to come up with that catchy name.
I think domestic terrorists can already get AK-47s if they want to. Same way you can get drugs or anything.
"conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia"?? That's a law?? OK, so I guess people that still roll their own tobacco cigarettes are SOL, because zig zags are used to roll joints, too...
Why is this good news again? I hardly even drink and I'm against the government's position on grass. It's bad enough that they take 30% or more of your income, do they have to use that money to take away our freedom?
So the Feds swooped in prevented about 300 bongs from being sold. And yet, strangely, I don't feel any safer ...
C'mon, Mrs. JB! You don't feel any safer? Don't you know that those bongs were headed straight for Al Qaeda? They could use them to deliver weapons of mass destruction to US soil!
You won't say that the next time you step on a dirty piece of bong shrapnel, your foot gets infected, and has to be amputated... Also, bongs are the 58th most frequently used weapons in domestic assaults, ahead of ironing boards, but still behind golf cleats...
If anything this would be a reason to LEGALIZE DOMESTIC mar1juana. If domestic mar1juana were legal, Kentucky's GDP would jump millions of dollars and mar1juana would be their biggest cash crop. Legalize it, NOW! End stupid drug laws!
A-Train.. I love it.. So what's next.. Should they outlaw lighters? My water pipes are only used for tobacco smoking..
Sorry...after I thought about it a bit, I realized my statement is a bit confusing... I don't smoke pot...but I do get the humor behind it. I would love to see another C&C movie though!
What possible purpose could this "bust" serve, are they setting an example? I would bet every pipe shop in town has a full inventory, without any changes in the way "waterpipes" are sold in the store, or distributed to the store.
