CHEECH AND I DIDN'T INHALE: CHONG

ASPEN, COLO. - Tommy Chong says he and Cheech Marin didn't smoke pot when
they were making the stoner comedies that made them famous.

Speaking at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival -- where he and Marin reunited on
stage last week for the first time in more than 20 years -- the
Edmonton-born comedian said they voluntarily refrained from smoking up
because being stoned in front of the cameras was counterproductive.

According to Chong, there was only a single instance of the duo filming a
scene while under the influence, which came during the making of 1978's Up
in Smoke.

"We tried one time and we wasted so much film," he told reporters.

"We were in the car waiting for the cue, you know. And the camera's rolling
and we're sitting there, you know, and neither one of us heard the cue."

Three decades ago, Cheech and Chong carved out a niche with
marijuana-themed humour on comedy albums and the big screen.

Chong said he has no regrets about being a role model for an entire
generation of tokers.

"When you think of how many kids died drinking alcohol, I feel I've saved
millions of lives," he said.

The duo is planning a new film, which could be released as soon as this
summer. It will be in the same mould as the films they made in the 1970s
and 1980s.

"We are nearly done with the script," Marin said, adding that although its
spirit will be in keeping with past Cheech and Chong pictures, the new film
will have an "age- and time-appropriate" feel.

"It will be a movie about two guys who have all sorts of adventures
together," a smiling Chong noted.

The two have been kicking around possible title ideas, including Grumpy Old
Stoners and Lord of the Smoke Rings.

They had started working on the script when Chong was sentenced to nine
months in jail for selling pot pipes, a stretch he finished serving in July.