I thought they were legal

September 11, 2003 11:01 PM

Tommy Chong should have fled to Jamaica. Ain't that what bail's for?
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly (17 comments total)

Is the DOJ's time really best spent enforcing pseudo-laws? I know this is my second Chong post in four months, but Justice seems to quite clearly be enforcing a moral code moreso than the laws as written.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 11:09 PM on September 11, 2003

"there are consequences for violating the law, even if the violator is a well-known entertainer like Thomas Chong."
I'd say especially if the violator is a well-known entertainer like Thomas Chong. If the violator were a well-known entertainer like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he'd get the judge's endorsement for his Gubernatorial campaign (IMO).

I can hardly wait to see the first of those 7500 bongs he distributed go up on eBay. Talk about a collector's item!

disclaimer: this comment was made totally sober. honest.
posted by wendell at 11:13 PM on September 11, 2003

Guns don't kill people, bongs kill people.
posted by homunculus at 11:22 PM on September 11, 2003

Er, bongs.
posted by homunculus at 11:24 PM on September 11, 2003

Drugs are terrorism, mkay?
posted by homunculus at 11:28 PM on September 11, 2003

Madness. Utter madness. I can understand the rationale for drugs being illegal (even if I disagree with it.) But bongs and pipes? What next? Will it be illegal to own a torn Rizla packet?
posted by salmacis at 2:31 AM on September 12, 2003

Will it be illegal to own a torn Rizla packet?

That too, can be confiscated as paraphernalia.
posted by Espoo2 at 2:43 AM on September 12, 2003

Operation Pipe Dream is such crap.

I can't wait for Operation Rolling Papers. And then, Operation Normal Pipes that We Think Might Be Used To Smoke Pot. And then, Operation Arrest Everyone Because They Might Smoke Pot Eventually.
posted by untuckedshirts at 4:43 AM on September 12, 2003

This kind of stuff makes me very aware of how easy it is to curtail civil liberties. So Tommy Chong was selling bongs and got sent to jail for it. Who goes to jail next? How about this guy? How about myself, for having a very liberal attitude towards drugs, yet don't take them myself? How about anybody who's reading this thread?
posted by ashbury at 6:33 AM on September 12, 2003

Don't forget Operation Cut Plastic Coca Cola Bottle and Bucket Bong or Operation Apple
posted by RubberHen at 6:39 AM on September 12, 2003

the guy is 65 years old and will serve nine months in federal prison for selling bongs on the internet? absolutely ridiculous.

i work in the same building as the court where this travesty took place, was hanging my head in shame yesterday.

you pretty much need a credit card to order stuff online, so this stuff was basically all sold to adults... man, i could rant on about this for a long time, it just seems ludicrous to me.

nice bong story from last week
posted by rswst8 at 7:44 AM on September 12, 2003

Outlaw pipe bombs, not bomb pipes.
posted by joemeek at 8:18 AM on September 12, 2003

surely there must be some kind of legal strategy behind this - why did he just plead guilty, instead of taking this to court --- surely he has the resources to overturn this kind of prosecutorial insanity
posted by yesster at 10:52 AM on September 12, 2003

yesster - Maybe he pled guilty in exchange for them not prosecuting him for other crimes. For example, as the story said, they raided his house and found a pound of weed. That probably could have sent him away for years as a "dealer."

The good news, maybe, is that law enforcement officials are starting to see the light on the drug war.
posted by pitchblende at 11:01 AM on September 12, 2003

This makes me sick. Really. The worst part is him having to get down on his knees and beg, spouting the "drugs are bad" BS before they say "nope, not enough, you still go to jail."
posted by soyjoy at 11:04 AM on September 12, 2003

According to a commenter on TalkLeft, the feds threatened to prosecute Chong's wife or son if he didn't plead guilty.
posted by homunculus at 12:51 PM on September 12, 2003

PROSECUTOR: CHONG WRONG TO BONG
posted by quonsar at 5:48 AM on September 13, 2003