A Bad Trip for Tommy Chong: Nine Months in Jail
Thu Sep 11, 3:54 PM ET
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Actor Tommy Chong (news) of the spaced-out, dope-smoking comedy duo "Cheech & Chong" was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined $20,000 on Thursday for distributing marijuana pipes over the Internet.
The 65-year-old Canadian-born entertainer, wearing a dark business suit and shoulder-length hair, asked U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab for a sentence of community service, saying in a statement read by his lawyer that he was not the perpetually stoned loser he portrays in Hollywood films.
"I have a drug problem with marijuana," Chong told the court later, saying he had overcome dependency through constructive hobbies including learning to dance the salsa.
But the judge ruled that jail time was appropriate for a felony charge of conspiring to distribute drug paraphernalia, which Chong pleaded guilty to last May. Chong will also receive drug treatment behind bars and spend a year on probation.
Federal sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of six to nine months and a fine of up to $250,000.
Chong, who has no criminal record, is best known as the bearded and bespectacled member of "Cheech & Chong," who along with partner Cheech Marin (news) 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 then-youthful pair made a series of comedy albums that won them a Grammy award and launched their subsequent Hollywood movie careers.
A new movie starring the aging comedians is reported to be in the works.
Prosecutors said Chong entered the distribution business in September 2001 and raised nearly $1.6 million in sales before federal agents raided his Gardena, California-based company, Nice Dreams Enterprises, in February.
Federal authorities in Pittsburgh have convicted 22 other national drug-paraphernalia distributors since 2000 through a program called "Operation Pipe Dreams."
"(Chong) wasn't the biggest supplier. He was a relatively new player. But he had the ability to market products like no other," U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said.
Four months ago, Chong admitted distributing thousands of marijuana pipes, including large water-pipes known as bongs, through the Web sites www.chongglass.com and www.tommychong.com. Prosecutors said some of the products turned up in western Pennsylvania.
He also admitted to promoting drug paraphernalia during personal appearances around the United States.
On Thursday, Schwab put the family-run company on three years' probation and ordered Chong to abandon his Web site domain names. The judge also instructed Chong to forfeit $103,000 in sales proceeds.
Prosecutors said Chong would likely surrender to federal authorities within five weeks and serve out his time at a prison near his home in Pacific Palisades, California.