JUDGE ME BY MY ACTIONS, NOT MY ACTING

Tommy Chong Gets A Raw Deal In Court For Selling Bongs

It came as no surprise when I heard that Tommy Chong was in drug related
legal trouble. For those of you who don't know, Tommy Chong was half of the
dope-smoking duo in the Cheech and Chong movies. He was arrested and
sentenced to nine months in prison for conspiring to sell drug
paraphernalia through the mail.

On the surface, it appears he got what was coming to him, but in reality
he's getting busted for selling glass on the internet. Now we all know what
those bongs are going to be used for, but let's not go nuts. As a result of
this, Chong has lost his recurring role on the Fox sitcom "That '70s Show"
and a planned reunion movie with Cheech Marin.

In America, a man can open his own business and advertise anyway he sees
fit. Chong used his doped-up character to sell these bongs over the
internet. Big deal. Use what you're famous for and push it, if it's gonna
make you more successful in what you want to do. If you're Michael Jordan
and you get into the business of selling basketballs, you're gonna use
you're fame in that market to sell more basketballs.

Prosecutors made reference to chong by the characters he played in movies.
Granted Chong did abuse marijuana, he was treated and beat it. They
completely ignore the fact that he has been working with youth groups,
teaching film making and speaking against drug use.

It's funny that he is getting the worst punishment out of all the people
involved just because of who he is. What about the people who ran this
company and were more involved that he was? What about them? A few fines
and a couple of months of house arrest.

It's not fair to give someone worse punishment because of who they are or
the characters that they have played. Yes, he did glamorize drug use and
trivializing law enforcement in his movies, but what movie doesn't do that?
All movies do that. Key word, MOVIES. They are not real.

Tommy Chong is not the man that he has played in movies. That disappoints
most people. People need to stop being so uptight about everything and
learn how to differentiate between a fictional character and a real man
living his life.

If Tommy Chong did, in fact, do something wrong, then he should be
prosecuted for those things he did and not for the things he has done in
movies. Ah, the system of American government, isn't it grand?