DEA'S RAID HELPS FIRE UP CHONG'S ACT

In the 1978 cult classic Up in Smoke, comedian Tommy Chong plays a
stoner on the run from a particularly uptight Drug Enforcement
Administration agent.

But when life imitated art recently, Chong had little to laugh
about.

Late last month, DEA agents raided the comic's Los Angeles-area home
and glass pipe business, seizing the company's merchandise.

Chong was not arrested but still seems dazed by the
crackdown.

"It shows desperation, and that's scary," said Chong, who rose to fame
as one half of the '70s pothead pair, Cheech & Chong. "If I pose a
threat, then they're sort of fishing for anything."

Chong wasn't indicted in the raid, dubbed Operation Pipe Dreams, part
of Attorney General John Ashcroft's national sweep against drug
paraphernalia sellers. But the government still might bring charges
against Chong, who visits the Comedy Works this weekend.

"I feel very lucky compared to what other people have lost," said
Chong, referring to the more than 50 people who have been arrested and
charged.

In fact, Chong sees the raid as a blessing in disguise.

"What happened to me has served as a built-in PR machine," he
laughed.

Indeed, the raid has focused new attention on Chong, who soon may be
invading movie screens and bookshelves.

After a nearly 20-year estrangement, Chong has reconciled with former
partner Cheech Marin and the two are collaborating on a new Cheech &
Chong film.

"The first day back was kind of nice," said Chong, who credits his
daughter, actress Rae Dawn Chong, for reuniting him with Marin. "We
circled each other like puppy dogs."

The two, who have been working together for about a month, hope to
start shooting later this spring.

"We're like the Rolling Stones," Chong said. "There are so many
generations who still know who we are."

Meanwhile, Chong has just finished his autobiography, which will be
published by HarperCollins.

"It was due in September," Chong confessed.

The projects could revive interest in Chong, who aside from a stint on
That '70s Show, has quietly toiled on the stand-up circuit for the
past decade.

"I've always lived my life doing what I want to do," Chong explained.
"And after the movies, I was financially independent enough to choose
whatever the hell I wanted to do."

Chong first hit the stand-up stage as a solo act in
1991.

"I remember I had 10 minutes of material, but they wanted me to do
45," says Chong, who managed to stretch his 10 minutes into 20. "It
was like riding a bike without training wheels."

After five years, Chong convinced his wife, Shelby, who appeared in
several Cheech & Chong flicks, to join the act. The couple now hits
the road at least twice a month.

Chong says the act resembles vaudeville more than traditional
stand-up, though there are still plenty of pot jokes to satisfy stoner
fans. And Chong isn't afraid to throw a few observations about current
affairs into the mix.

"You are always going to get laughs when you say certain words, like
Michael Jackson," Chong said.

And though Chong is eager to put last month's raid behind him, the
experience has provided fodder for the stage.

"I think I got a good 20 minutes out of being busted."