cannabisnews.com: Chong Still Revels in Counterculture Ways 





Chong Still Revels in Counterculture Ways 
Posted by CN Staff on August 03, 2002 at 15:33:07 PT
By Derek Paiva, Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Source: Honolulu Advertiser 
Ask Tommy Chong if he's still a stoner, and he'll tell you a story about a sunny day in the 1970s when he and former comedy partner Richard "Cheech" Marin stepped out of their Lahaina hotel rooms individually to purchase some of the Valley Isle's finest. "Cheech and I were playing Hawai'i ... and we both wanted to score some weed," says Chong, via telephone from his Los Angeles home. "So Cheech hooked up with this grower who had a plantation near Hana.
They chartered a plane, flew over there, and then hiked up this mountain ... quite a ways, starting early in the morning."Chong, meanwhile, chose to sleep in."Around noon or one o'clock, I woke up and walked over to a health food store," says Chong. "And there was this guy sorting bags of weed. So I say, 'Oh, are those for sale?' And he says, 'Yeah!' and threw one on the counter for me."Marin returned that evening with a funky-looking sunburn on one side of his face, stories of his battles with nature, a small reservoir of anger, but beaming with pride as he tossed a hard-won $100 bag of product on the table. To his surprise, Chong did the same."He was, like, 'Where'd you get that, man?' says Chong, before pausing to crack up with laughter. "When I told him, the look on his face was priceless. I mean, I even actually paid less for the same amount of weed as Cheech."Think this sounds a bit like a skit from one of the duo's now cult-classic comedy records (like 1973's "Los Cochinos") and multimillion-dollar-grossing cinematic pot adventures (like 1978's "Up In Smoke")? Well, so does Chong."It was classic Chong, man!" he says, referring to his only slightly alter ego. "If you wait, the stuff will come to ya."Fine, man, but whose "stuff" was more, uh, dope?"Oh, mine, by far!" says Chong, laughing hard. "Cheech couldn't even enjoy his 'cause he got ripped off. I mean, he had to pay for chartering a plane, man!"About to turn 64, and — to paraphrase the title of one of the duo's films — still proudly smokin', Tommy Chong and his Family Stoned Band (girlfriend/wife of 30 years Shelby and sons Gilbran, 26, and Paris, 21) will offer a two-night engagement of stoner stand-up, skits ("Let's Make A Dope Deal"), original tunes ("Earache My Eye") and (we're not joking) salsa dance lessons today and Saturday at Gussie L'Amour's.Along with his occasional appearances as "Leo," an aging hippie photo-lab owner on Fox's "That '70s Show" and film cameos, the vaudeville-style show is just one of Chong's under-the-radar projects since the duo's semi-hostile 1986 breakup.Unlike Marin — who post-C&C has eked out a moderately successful, decidedly straight-laced acting career in television ("Nash Bridges") and film ("Tin Cup," "The Lion King" and both "Spy Kids" films) — Chong has never distanced himself from his stoner past in his reel or real life. The question of exactly how often he still inhales exhales into our conversation once again."Ohhhh, a couple of times a week ... maybe," says Chong. "It depends. The older you get, the less you need. Pot makes you slow and stupid. And when you get old, that comes naturally." He lets loose a roaring laugh again.These days, Chong says, his pot use is akin to getting treats for a job well done."I use it as a reward," explains Chong. "If I've done something — worked on a book I'm writing, created some art, wrote a song, or did something creative — then I go, 'You know what? You deserve to get high!' " Snipped: Complete Article: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Aug/02/en/en02a.htmlSource: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)Author: Derek Paiva, Advertiser Entertainment WriterPublished: Friday, August 2, 2002 Copyright: 2002 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.Contact: letters honoluluadvertiser.comWebsite: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/Related Article & Web Site:That 70's Showhttp://www.that70sshow.com/Chong's Comedy Career Still Smoking http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10288.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 04, 2002 at 15:57:41 PT
Rev Adler 
I just wanted to say I hope everything works out for you. Please keep us informed.
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Comment #7 posted by Rev Jonathan Adler on August 04, 2002 at 15:43:24 PT:
Tommy Chong, Support Us Please! Hawaii Needs You!
Aloha and Wassup! Here in Hawaii I am now in a campaign of politics versus Public Service for Governor of this State. Tommy Chong knows our buds are da kind. Tommy , please contact us about mutually beneficial cooperation. I visited the studio in Vancouver where "Best Buds" was produced and shot video of the huge bud replica and the offices which I showerd on Hawaii Public TV in a 2 hour documentary. I would be honored to finally meet you as you were not present that day. We need endoersements of famous folks to bolster our campaign....ADLER4GOV "Why Not Pot?" Mahalos! Jonathan Adler
Hawaii/ Adler 4 Gvernor!
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 04, 2002 at 10:46:02 PT
Zero_G 
You're welcome. It's great the see them back in concert. They keep showing the concert on CNN Headline News. 
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Comment #5 posted by Zero_G on August 04, 2002 at 10:30:26 PT
Good Ol' Grateful Dead
Thanks FoM, the GD were the soundtrack to much of my life, and meant a lot to me.But the idea of an official history sounds weird - there are so many stories that abound, many written from the inside of that anarchic busride.And we all have stories to tell."Story teller makes no choice,Soon you will not hear his voice,His job is to shed light,And not to master." Hunter/GarciaHappy 60th Jerryfukinmissya
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 03, 2002 at 22:17:14 PT
Book Review: Popular Culture: Dead Reckoning 
'A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead' by Dennis McNally 
 
  
Reviewed by Richard Harrington
Sunday, August 4, 2002; Page BW03 
Copyright: 2002 Washington Post
 
Robert Hunter, a major contributor of lyrics to the Grateful Dead, calls that band "an anarchic oligarchy," so it's not surprising that Dennis McNally's comprehensive history of this complex socio-musical organism is as lengthy, sprawling, exhausting and uplifting as a typical Dead concert. Its author is particularly well situated to write the band's first and only authorized biography: McNally signed on as the Grateful Dead's official historian in 1980, taking on the additional role of publicist a few years later.
 
Complete Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33952-2002Aug1.html
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Comment #3 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 03, 2002 at 22:09:09 PT
Which side is the "counter" culture?
While the traditional argument is that the hippies are the counter-culture, I think it's appropriate to think of the narcs as the true counter-culture. They're doing everything they can to counter cannabis culture, aren't they?
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Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 03, 2002 at 16:12:44 PT
Off-topic
Never heard of it before, but the Uhlich report asks kids to grade adults in various areas of performance. They gave the adults no A's, and in the area of stopping kids from using drugs, adults recieved a C minus.
Uhlich Report Card
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Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on August 03, 2002 at 15:54:33 PT
more from the 70's
FROM NIXON TO NOW 
A Flawed Drug Policy Marches On 
There's one thing you can say for the war on drugs: It's consistent. The 
effort is tinged with the same hypocrisy, dishonesty and propaganda that 
characterized President Richard Nixon's launch of it during the early 
Seventies. 
Earlier this year the National Archives released tapes Nixon made in the 
Oval Office during 1971 and 1972. Transcripts highlight the prejudice, 
ignorance and self-deception that precipitated a national tragedy. While 
the president appointed a commission that called for decriminalizing the 
possession and small-scale sale of marijuana, Nixon pushed for an "all-out 
war, on all fronts," against pot smokers. Within a year marijuana arrests 
had jumped threefold, to 420,700 from 100,000. And since then, more than 
15 million people have been arrested in the U.S. for marijuana. 
What was Nixon's big hang-up with weed? He saw it as a tool used by those 
who opposed him. The president claimed that "radical demonstrators are all 
on drugs." He told confidants that "every one of the bastards out for 
legalizing marijuana is Jewish. I suppose it's because most of them are 
psychiatrists." Nixon saw the drug war as part of a larger cultural war: 
"Homosexuality, dope, immorality in general - these are the enemies of 
strong societies. That's why the Communists and left-wingers are pushing 
the stuff. They're trying to destroy us." 
In his notes from the time, Nixon aide Bob Haldeman reported that the White 
House saw tough drug laws as a way to keep the black community in 
check. "The whole problem is the blacks," Haldeman wrote. "The key is to 
devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to." The Nixon 
legacy? More blacks in prison, and fewer voting. While blacks make up 
approximately 15 percent of drug users, they represent 55 percent of drug 
convictions. Thirteen percent have lost the right to vote because of 
felony convictions, often for drug offenses. In Florida alone, and 
estimated 204,600 black men cannot vote - enough to have easily turned the 
presidential election, even allowing for quite a few dangling chads. 
While speaking with entertainer and antidrug crusader Art Linkletter, Nixon 
dismissed any comparison between the mood-altering effects of alcohol and 
those of drugs. He asserted that while people smoke to get high, they 
don't drink to get drunk but only to have fun. 
That simple but absurd distinction has influenced domestic policy for 30 
years. The feds are punitive on pot use but compassionate about alcohol 
abuse. Critics of the drug war have called for an end to treating drug 
users as criminals. They point to the cost of this jihad. The 
government's response? Clever accounting. The drug war budget already 
does not include the cost of military personnel working on drug 
enforcement, such as the soldiers and civilian contractors employed in 
Colombia by the U.S. Now the White House also will exclude the expense of 
prosecuting and/or imprisoning offenders. According to drug czar John 
Walters, these are indirect costs for his office. 
It gets better. This year, for the first time, the cost of treating 
alcoholics - people addicted to a substance that's legal in every state - 
will be added to the budget. So much for Nixon's distinction between 
tokers and tipplers. Why these Enron-like tricks? The easy answer is that 
they allow President Bush to cut the federal drug budget from $19.2 billion 
to $11.4 billion without any sacrifice. More important, Bush and Walters 
can maintain that the split in the budget between enforcement and treatment 
costs approaches 50-50 ( the actual split is 70-30 ). This not only allows 
the administration to claim the higher ground - it's compassionate 
conservatism at work - but it also reflects a growing belief among the 
public that incarceration is not the way to battle what is being recognized 
as a public health crisis. 
Unfortunately, it's all lies. The leaders of the drug war have become 
comfortable with their ability to churn out propaganda. They can assert 
with straight faces the $3 billion annual cost of incarcerating offenders 
is not a cost of the war. This sort of dishonesty shows the drug warriors 
realize they are losing support. According to one national survey, three 
in four Americans believe the war is a losing cause. Voters in California 
and Arizona have told authorities to provide treatment to offenders rather 
than send them to prison. More reforms are sure to follow. 

Playboy Magazine
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