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.