The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint

On February 24, 2003 at 5:30 a.m., agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration kicked in the door of Tommy Chong’s California home, with automatic weapons drawn. Miles away, at the plant that produced the wares sold by Tommy’s company Chong Glass, a similar raid took place. At both locations, agents barged in and carted away money, glass bongs, computers, and business records. Fifty-five individuals and companies were busted across the US that day for selling paraphernalia as a result of the Department of Justice’s pronouncement that marijuana use supports terrorism, and therefore selling glass paraphernalia is, by extension, a terrorist activity. Nearly seven months later, on September 11, 2003, Tommy Chong was sentenced to nine months in prison. His was the longest - and the only Federal - sentence to result from the bust. This is his story. InI Chong, Tommy describes his time in prison, how he survived, and how his outlook on life and his humorous point of view saved him. He also offers his thoughts and solutions on how to combat the conservative political forces at work in the US. Introspective, inspiring, and incendiary, Tommy’s prison diaries are a unique chronicle of a man’s wrongful incarceration and an administration without boundaries.