CHONG RAISES MONEY TO HELP GURU OF GANJA

PIEDMONT, Calif. - Comedian Tommy Chong will help raise money to
defend the self-proclaimed Guru of Ganja, who is charged with growing
hundreds of marijuana plants for a dispensary.

The Edmonton-born Chong, who starred with Cheech Marin in stoner
movie classics Up in Smoke and Nice Dreams, will appear at a $125 US
per-person event for Ed Rosenthal.

Rosenthal, 62, famed for his marijuana cultivation books and the Ask
Ed column he wrote for High Times magazine, will host the event at
his Piedmont home on Sunday.

"The party will celebrate how far we've come in legalizing medical
marijuana as well as provide me with the money I need to fund my
current trial that is defending all of our rights," Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal, who's scheduled to appear in federal court March 19,
estimates his trial and related expenses could cost more than $300,000.

Federal prosecutors accused Rosenthal of growing marijuana,
laundering money and falsifying tax returns from October 2001 through
February 2002.

In a post to his weblog, The Blog of Chong, on Saturday, Chong urged
his readers to attend the benefit for Rosenthal and donate to his
defence. "Ed is being dogged by the feds for his marijuana work with
sick people," Chong wrote. "It is the feds who are sick."