Tommy Chong, Changing the Marijuana Culture One Joint at a Time

Actor, comedian Tommy Chong has been the unofficial marijuana ambassador for the past 40 years. From movies, music and stand-up, Tommy Chong has served as the voice of a million aphonic pot smokers who believe the U.S. marijuana laws are unjust and in desperate need of change.

Tommy’s work and activism have made him a prime target for the U.S. government who arrested him in 2003, for selling water pipes through the mail. After serving a 9-month sentence in a federal prison in California, Tommy’s belief in the culture and resolve to make marijuana legal are even stronger than ever.

Matt Roberts: How has the marijuana culture changed since the early days of Cheech & Chong?

Tommy Chong: For one thing, the medical approach has changed everything. In the early 70s, a Nixon appointed commission had recommended that marijuana use not be a criminal offense under state or federal law. However, President Nixon himself overruled the commission’s research and doomed marijuana to its current illegal status. Today, the medical marijuana approach has really changed the culture.

MR: Before the formation of Cheech and Chong had you ever heard comedians refer to smoking marijuana on stage or in movies?

TC: Comedian George Carlin alluded to pot smoking in his now famous hippy dippy weatherman sketch and Lenny Bruce of course who went to jail for it. Other than that it wasn’t really talked about as much as it is today.

MR: Do you feel Cheech & Chong were the catalyst for today’s pot culture?

TC: Yes, in more ways than one. The Cheech & Chong movies were the first to break the demonization of the Mexican and hippy culture. We were the first actual reality show. When you were watching a Cheech & Chong movie; you were watching a slice of life, because that’s what was happening in California at the time. We weren’t just playing the roles. We were living it.

Marijuana is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter what color or race or background you come from when that joint gets passed around everyone is equal.

MR: In your opinion, has our society become more or less accepting when it comes to marijuana use?

TC: More, way more accepting. There seems to be a pot scene in almost every movie. Cheech and I were the first ones who really featured pot as the main character in a movie.

MR: Since your false imprisonment at the hands of George W. Bush and his goons do you consider yourself to be more of an activist toward the legalization of marijuana, and its gear?

TC: Totally, I mean what happened to me was George W. Bush set out looking for weapons of Mass Destruction and only found me and my bongs.

MR: What are your thoughts on Gov. Rick Perry saying he wants to send troops to Mexico to fight the drug cartels?

TC: Old niggerhead? He’s a little desperate to become the next president, but that will never happen. Pot laws are the only racist laws left on the books, but it’s going to change because of the laws of karma. When the police are busting people for pot, they are building up huge amounts of bad karma. The police are supposed to help people not hurt them, and the universe recognizes this and will punish them.

The current drug laws hurt those people who really need marijuana; they have become the byproduct of the war on drugs.

MR: Your legacy as the godfather of ganja has certainly put you into a rare and noble iconoclast that will eventually give you immortality, was that the plan all along?

TC: No, not at all. I just tried to stay true to everything I knew, and I never deviated. I just stayed on course.

With that, our conversation came to a quick and abrupt end leaving this writer on a natural high that will last for the rest of my life. Besides being an actor, comedian, musician, and tireless activist, Tommy Chong is one hell of a nice guy who continues to perform with his longtime comedic partner Richard “Cheech” Marin on a regular basis. For more information on tour dates and other cool stuff, visit Cheech & Chong.Com.


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