cannabisnews.com: Comedian Chong Admits Marijuana Equipment Sales Comedian Chong Admits Marijuana Equipment Sales Posted by CN Staff on May 13, 2003 at 13:51:51 PT By Reuters Source: Reuters Actor Tommy Chong of the spaced-out dope-smoking comedy duo "Cheech & Chong" pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal conspiracy charge of selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet. Chong, 64, of Pacific Palisades, California, and his family-run business, Nice Dreams Enterprises, admitted to conspiring to sell marijuana pipes via Web site promotions that featured the comedian's celebrity endorsement. Under a federal plea agreement, Chong also admitted in a Pittsburgh courtroom that he promoted the drug paraphernalia during personal appearances around the country. He could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But federal prosecutors said the actual penalty will likely be more lenient. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab set a sentencing hearing for Sept. 11 and released him on $20,000 bond. Chong's plea represented a public relations victory for a local federal program called "Operation Pipe Dreams," which targets drug paraphernalia sales. The operation, which began in 2000, has 17 cases pending, most from the Pittsburgh area. "These cases can be brought wherever the Internet is used," said assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Brysh. The Canadian-born Chong is best known as the bearded and bespectacled member of "Cheech & Chong," who along with partner Cheech Marin became synonymous with the drug humor of the 1970s through comedy skits such as "Dave's Not Here" and movies like "Up In Smoke." First gaining national notoriety in 1970, the pair made a series of comedy albums that won them a Grammy award and helped launch their subsequent Hollywood movie careers. Chong was accused of using his Web sites -- http://www.chongglass.com -- and -- http://www.tommychong.com -- to sell thousands of pipes and glass bongs -- or water pipes. Many of the products were emblazoned with images of Chong's face and some bore his autograph. U.S. agents raided his Gardena, California-based business on Feb. 24, and confiscated about $120,000 in proceeds from the sales. Source: Reuters Published: May 13, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Reuters News ServiceWebsite: http://www.reuters.comContact: http://about.reuters.com/custhelp/Related Articles:Chong Takes Potshots at Grass Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16151.shtmlDEA's Raid Helps Fire Up Chong's Acthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15740.shtmlCannabisNews Paraphernalia Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/paraphernalia.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by peace on July 20, 2003 at 14:44:35 PT: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! They can't deport Tommy Chong!!! He is an American icon! That would be like deporting Lassie or something! How can you watch "That 70's Show" without seeing Tommy Chong?! What is this country coming to?Did you know that it is LEGAL to grow HEMP in EVERY major industrialized nation on this planet EXCEPT for the United States?!?!?! We really *NEED* to remove hemp from being a schedule one narcotic so our country can profit from this wonderful plant like other nations are doing! Wanna *KNOW* what is REALLY going on? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Heavy-D on June 19, 2003 at 17:50:32 PT: Chong is supposed to be deported! FYI:Chong can now technically be deported from the USA unless he became a US Citizen before this happened.By pleading guilty to a title 21 offence he is supposed to be subsequently deported back to Canada! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by RevHappy on May 14, 2003 at 09:44:16 PT: Where did Chong March? Id love it if Tommy came to the stage at his usual venue in Flint next year, and graces us with his presence at the Flint Marijuana March. Its a month after Hash Bash, Im sure he knows when that is.Where did Chong fight back? Where did he March? Does he still have some protest left in him? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mayan on May 14, 2003 at 05:23:41 PT Another... Here's a UPI article...Chong pleads to paraphernalia charge: http://upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030513-065813-6723r [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 13, 2003 at 20:28:18 PT Here's a Related Article It says in this article that Tommy Chong will be drug tested! Why?http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/05/13/86529-ap.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 13, 2003 at 14:29:57 PT Just a Note Hi Everyone, Since there is a lot of news from Canada I archived a few articles assuming we will get more news from Canada before the day is over. Here's the link for all the news that has been posted on CNews in the order that the articles have been posted.http://www.cannabisnews.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/cnews/newsread.pl?25000 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment