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Newsbrief:
Tommy
Chong
Walks
Out
of
Prison
7/9/04
Counterculture icon Tommy
Chong walked out of federal prison Tuesday after serving a nine-month sentence
as part of the Justice Department's crackdown on bongs, known as Operation
Pipedream. Chong was released from the federal Bureau of Prisons
Taft Correctional Facility in California.
Tommy Chong went to prison
because his company, Chong Glass, made the mistake of selling bongs to
head shops in Western Pennsylvania, home to one of two US Attorneys who
build careers on bong busts. (The other is in Des Moines.)
But he also went to prison in part because of his history as an actor,
along with Cheech Marin, in a series of pro-marijuana films in the 1970s
and early 1980s. At his sentencing, prosecutors urged that his prior
conduct be taken into account.
Attorney General John Ashcroft
crowed at the time of Chong's arrest. "Quite simply, the illegal
drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across the
country without their knowledge," he claimed. "This illegal, billion-dollar
industry will no longer be ignored by law enforcement."
It largely had been before.
But for Ashcroft the bong-makers of America apparently were a threat worthy
of the Justice Department's limited resources, and Tommy Chong the perfect
symbolic victim. So what if the federal prosecutors, in all too familiar
fashion, had to threaten his wife and children to get him to accept a plea
deal. That's the American prosecutors' way.
Welcome back to the land
of the living, Tommy Chong.
-- END --
|
Issue #345, 7/9/04
Editorial: Time for Congress to Get Real |
In the Wake of Blakely: Federal Sentencing Chaos as Defense Attorneys, Prosecutors, Lawmakers Ponder How to Respond |
House Votes Down Medical Marijuana Bill -- Election Year Politics, Organized Opposition Cited |
International AIDS Conference Puts Focus on Thai War on Drugs |
Making it Official: More Initiatives Move Toward November Ballot |
ALERT: "Thank or Spank" Your Congressman for This Week's Medical Marijuana Vote |
Newsbrief: Rep. Ron Paul Brings Pain Doctor Prosecution Issue to House |
Newsbrief: US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects DEA Motion for New Hemp Hearing |
Newsbrief: Kansas Supreme Court Says Cut Methamphetamine Sentences |
Newsbrief: Tommy Chong Walks Out of Prison |
Newsbrief: Iranians Protest US, UK Blind Eye to Afghan Opium Crop |
Newsbrief: United Arab Emirates Ponders First Step Toward Harm Reduction |
Newsbrief: Head of National Drug Intelligence Center Fired |
Newsbrief: Prohibition as a Marketing Tool -- Camel Ad Campaign Touts "Forbidden Fruit" Appeal |
Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief: California Prisons "Dysfunctional," State Report Concludes |
Movie Opening: Maria Full of Grace |
Media Scan: New CSDP Ad -- Richard Paey and Rush Limbaugh |
This Week in History |
Psilocybin Cancer Research Study Still Seeking Participants |
The Reformer's Calendar
|
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