Pubdate: Mon, 31 Jan 2005
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2005 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Jim Slotek
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

STONER CHONG OUT OF THE JOINT & BACK IN THE '70S

On an upcoming episode of That '70s Show, fans will see the return of Leo, 
the stoner photo-mart guy and the gang's erstwhile pot connection -- a 
character who's been missing from the show for two seasons. How do they 
explain his absence? "It's pretty funny, I just show up," says Tommy Chong, 
who plays Leo. "Eric (Topher Grace) says 'Leo, where you been?' And I just 
say, 'I don't know.' "

As he spoke on the phone from his L.A. home, Chong was about to leave to 
shoot the scene.

"What happens is Eric's car breaks down at the side of the road and I just 
appear out of the bushes. At the very end I'm in the basement, and Hyde 
(Danny Masterson) is there, and Hyde's the only guy I recognize.

"It's a real easy scene, and I got such a beautiful reception from the cast 
and crew. Everybody was so happy to have me back."

Chong's whereabouts are better known than Leo's. The Canadian-born comic, 
one-half of the platinum-selling stoner team of Cheech & Chong, was 
released in July after nine months in jail for selling personalized 
marijuana pipes on the Internet. No pot, just paraphernalia -- such is the 
Bush War on Drugs.

So how was his time in the, um, joint? He laughs at the euphemism. "How was 
the slammer?" he says. "It was a beautiful experience. The thought of going 
in for what I did was hellish. But being unfairly imprisoned gives me 
something in common with Martin Luther King and Lenny Bruce.

"But by and large it was a real easy experience. It was a minimum security 
camp, like a Camp Cupcake, near Bakersfield, Calif. There were Jewish gangs 
- -- they controlled the library.

"The thing is, you put a stoner comedian in any jail and you're gonna find 
a fan base. My social calendar was pretty full."

It was a non-violent prison population, he says, "a lot of pot growers 
doing, like 20 years, 'cause they found a rifle on the farm where they were 
growing it in the country. America's gone totally wacko and has been wacko 
for a lot longer than we thought.

"I met, like, eight doctors who were there for Medicare fraud --people 
trying to help people with America's non-existent health-care system. You 
could say they did it for profit in the sense that they were performing 
procedures that weren't covered in Medicare and billing for something else.

"What was beautiful was that I was privy to a world you usually don't see 
unless you're a criminal. By actually being a criminal instead of a 
writer/comedian, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I got to see 
firsthand what the system is about."

Since getting out of jail, Chong has returned to the standup stage (he did 
a stint in New York in December in the off-Broadway spoof The 
Marijuanalogues). Fans can expect the usual grab bag of old Cheech & Chong 
songs like Earache My Eye and originals -- as well as a rant or two about 
life behind bars.

For now, he's confining his comedy to Canada. "I wouldn't chance it down 
here yet, not while I'm on probation. They put me in jail for a bong. Could 
you imagine what they would do if I started spouting my hippie logic 
onstage in the U.S.?"

Ah, yes, probation. Chong is still drug-tested regularly and says he hasn't 
smoked pot for two years.

A release party was postponed because, "Technically, I can't even be around 
roach clips." All bets are off in July when his probation runs out.

"Of course," he says when asked if he'll indulge again. "I've had nothing 
but good experiences with pot -- other than the jail time."

Skedded to shoot this spring: The much-talked-about reunion movie with 
partner Cheech Marin. Tentative title: Grumpy Old Stoners. "The plot is, 
Cheech is fired 'cause he's bald, and I invent a pot lotion that grows hair."

And hilarity ensues -- along with a case of the munchies, we bet.
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MAP posted-by: Beth