AKA: Tommy Chong

I watched this documentary last night and I found it to be infuriating, entertaining, frightening and ultimately uplifting.

'Most everyone knows that Tommy Chong was arrested and incarcerated for selling water pipes over the Internet. What some might not know is...

Tommy actually had little to do with Chong Glass. His wife, Shelby, was the CEO of the corporation. His son ran it. Tommy's only real involvement was having his likeness emblazoned on the side of the products. His real offense was to make light of the American judicial system with his movies, records and standup comedy routines and to portray marijuana in a positive light.

AKA: Tommy Chong shows the situation to be a clear case of entrapment and it in fact never went to trial. So why did Tommy serve time in federal penitentiary? Because the charges against his wife and son would be dropped if he settled out of court and allowed himself to be railroaded into prison.

Why? Well, certain parties felt that Mr. Chong was a danger to American youth. In particular it was US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan who felt that Tommy was a threat to national security. Buchanan was a US attorney for the State of Pennsylvania when the 9/11 attacks occurred. She jumped on the bandwagon, attaining a lot of attention, upon which she received a chair on Attorney General John Ashcroft's Advisory Committee. Her first course of action was to target Tommy Chong.

Operation Pipe Dreams resulted in the arrest of other manufactures of drug paraphernalia, but Tommy Chong received the harshest punishment. Clearly the US Govt. wanted retaliation for the subversive humor that made Chong a wealthy man.

I've read Tommy's own account of the situation in his book, The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint, and he took the entire ordeal as yet another learning experience of his life. He had thirty years of blissful success and it was time for a new tide in his life. He resolved to make it as positive an experience as possible. Tommy met many prisoners. Some deserving of their fates, others that stood as examples of the hypocrisy in the so-called Land of the Free. He helped make their voices heard. Tommy worked the garden in prison and was the celebrity of the institution while he was inside.

So what did these idiots accomplish by locking up Tommy Chong? Well, they further cemented his status as an American Folk Hero. They revitalized his career. They made themselves look like total asses in the minds of any clear thinking individuals.

Drugs. The subject came to my mind while watching AKA: Tommy Chong. There are a lot of nasty drugs out there and a hell of a lot of violence and death as a result of them. Countless ruined lives and immeasurable heartbreak come about as a result of them. But marijuana? It's absolutely ridiculous that it hasn't been decriminalized. What about hard liquor? What about firearms?

That's obviously an opinion of mine and it's an opinion that not all will share. Yes, I used to smoke pot all the time. You know what? 99% of the people of my generation did the same thing. Yes, the people that are teaching your children. Yes, the politicians. Yes, your parents. Yes, almost all of the hypocritical moral watchdogs that think that they have the right to tell everyone how they can and can't live. Land of the Free my ass.

I recommend AKA: Tommy Chong to anyone that enjoyed Cheech and Chong or to anyone that gives a flying fuck about human rights. Regardless of your views on these issues, you might find it to be an eye-opening experience.

In the end, AKA: Tommy Chong is the portrait of an honorable man. A loving family man that devoted his life to making us laugh. He's always been one of my personal heroes.

Seth Rogan, you'd better watch your ass. In one moment of the film, Tommy says that people ask him what prison was like. His answer? "You'll find out".



Are you afraid of this man?