FEDS TAKE DOWN REAL THREATS LIKE TOMMY CHONG ON 9/11

Osama bin Laden may still be on the loose, but on the second anniversary of
the Sept. 11 attacks the federal government was able to take down a far
greater menace: Tommy Chong. The actor-comedian, one half of the '70s
Cheech & Chong comedy duo, was sentenced yesterday Downtown in U.S.
District Court to nine months in prison and was fined $20,000 after
pleading guilty to drug-related charges.

Getting Chong off the streets is seen by many as a much-needed victory in
the nation's cultural Vietnam, the war on drugs. Not that Chong is going to
jail for possessing or distributing drugs. The hedonistic hippie is going
to jail for possessing and distributing pipes that could be used to smoke them.

By sending him up the river for selling Chong Bongs, the feds are sending a
clear message: If you are going to smoke marijuana, you soon will not be
able to do so using a pipe. You will have to buy cigarette rolling papers,
or fashion your own smoking device out of an old soda can or some other
readily available product.

That is just the hard-line stance we need to take if we are ever to prevail
in the long-running battle against drugs.

Speaking of those readily available products, they are the reason it's
difficult to feel sympathy for this 65-year-old father of five. Even after
Chong's sentencing, a variety of items that can be used for potentially
nefarious purposes remained available through the official Cheech & Chong
Internet site (www.cheechandchong.com).

Take, for example, the Cheech & Chong lunchbox. It's the perfect size to
house a balogna and cheese sandwich and perhaps a small thermos of milk --
or several ounces of dope to transport and sell in the elementary school
playground.

There's also the Cheech & Chong votive candle holder. Sure, it could hold a
candle. More likely, though, is that the purchaser uses it to hold at least
two baggies filled with any variety of controlled substances.

Let's not forget the Cheech & Chong fuzzy dice, which becomes a convenient
contraband container merely by replacing the die's interior fuzz with
anything causing a buzz.

Considering he brazenly pushed these products even after admitting he
peddled the pipes, Chong got off light yesterday.

When federal prosecutors make a priority out of targeting paraphernalia
purveyors, those selling a menagerie of marijuana accessories shouldn't be
surprised when they end up in the joint.