COMIC ENSNARED IN U.S. 'ENEMIES NET'

Tommy Chong's Name Is Synonymous With Pot, Making Him A Natural Target In
The Other War

AKA Tommy Chong

Tuesday 10 p.m.

Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Granville 7 Theatres.

Tommy Chong -- one-time musician, one-time comedian, one-time entrepreneur
- -- has become a saint.

At an age when most people are retired, the man who was the driving force
behind the Cheech & Chong comedy team a quarter of a century ago now finds
himself leading the assault on America's ridiculous laws against marijuana.

He considers himself a kind of pot Nelson Mandela.

All because he dared opine: "Bongs are the only weapon of mass destruction
the Bush administration has found."

Adopted at a time when racist sentiment was rampant, the North American pot
prohibition was initially aimed at Mexican immigrants and black jazz musicians.

Now it has been turned against those who would criticize Washington's War
on Terror.

As the 66-year-old Chong argues in a compelling documentary about his
travails, AKA Tommy Chong, showing tonight and Wednesday at the Vancouver
International Film Festival, the anti-pot law continues to be used not only
to supposedly regulate marijuana usage but to browbeat those who oppose
Washington's idea of social homogeneity.

The anti-marijuana legislation is the last overtly racist regulation on the
books, in Chong's opinion, and it is being used in Canada and the U.S. not
to address drug abuse but to cow those who are not on the same page as the
administration.

It's difficult not to agree.

Chong's name is synonymous with marijuana and he was a natural target after
9/11.

He was convicted last year and sentenced to nine months in prison for
selling novelty art-glass water pipes, or "bongs," over the Internet even
though the law is not only questionable, but the crime is harmless.

The charges followed an elaborate government sting known as Operation Pipe
Dream, sanctioned by then-U.S. attorney-general John Ashcroft.

Director Josh Gilbert has created a pointed and entertaining documentary
about the operation, as much about how post-9/11 America has widened its
"enemies net" to the point of meaninglessness. His cast of characters
includes Jay Leno, Bill Maher, Peter Coyote and Richard (Cheech) Marin.

They more than attest to just how silly, damaging and downright pernicious
Bush's so-called "war" really is.

"They look at it the way they did with the Vietnam protesters," Chong told
me. "They don't care if you are a priest or a whatever, they demonize you.
They just make you a devil. If you don't agree with Washington, they
demonize you."

In Chong's case, the U.S. government demonized the satirical character he
portrayed.

"The whole ordeal really defined the first amendment," Chong said shaking
his head. "It's about the pharmaceutical companies too. This product grows
anywhere and can be used to treat cancer or other problems and also
recreationally. Imagine that, it can be used recreationally."

That's the reason Chong thinks he was targeted. Marijuana is fun and the
politicians don't want to let that loose. It's been like that for years.

"I was in jail with people doing 30 years for growing pot," he lamented.

"I tried to finish my high-school courses in jail, didn't manage to do it.
Couldn't pass that bloody algebra."

He laughed.

"I learned in jail you just watch the changes -- the universe is on its
course," Chong said.

"The universe will take care of itself, but you've got to let it. I believe
in the I Ching. It's my bible and the first thing it told me was:

"You're in jail for a reason. Quit going to the injustice of it all. Sit
back and enjoy the learning from your experience."

Just like a toker: The enemy is jailing your friends and you're preaching
tolerance.