USUALLY SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 5 DAYS

USUALLY SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 5 DAYS

USUALLY SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 5 DAYS

**Same award-winning film, now wrapped in a smokeable clear cellulose paper wrapper. That wrapper is not plastic.**

a/k/a Tommy Chong chronicles the entrapment and incarceration of comedic legend Tommy Chong. Josh Gilbert's "a/k/a Tommy Chong" offers a sometimes frightening, often hilarious account of Operation Pipe Dreams, a nationwide drug paraphernalia sting operation spearheaded by former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

After a fully armed SWAT team raided the 65 year-old comedian's home in February of 2003, Tommy Chong was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute drug paraphernalia through Chong Glass, a family business specializing in handmade glass water pipes, or "bongs." Of the 55 defendants prosecuted, Tommy Chong was the only one with no prior convicitons to receive jail time. Justifying the 9 month sentence, the prosecutor cited the classic 1978 movie Cheech & Chong film "Up In Smoke" as evidence that he had become wealthy "trivializing law enforcement efforts to combat marijuana trafficking and use."

• Official Selection - Toronto International Film Festival
• Official Selection - IDFA: International Documentary Festival Amsterdam
• Official Selection - Palm Springs International Film Festival
• Official Selection - Miami International Film Festival
• Official Selection - SXSW Film Festival
• Official Selection - Full Frame Documentary Festival
• Winner, Best Documentary - HBO US Comedy Arts Festival
• Audience Award, Best Documentary - San Francisco Independent Film Festival
• Audience Award Runner Up, Best International Film - Vancouver International Film Festival
• "The real stoners in this excellent documentary are the administration officials drunk with power and out of control, and a nation of otherwise good people who've been given the worst drug of all--fear." Michael Moore
• "You do not have to approve of drugs to be offended." Roger Ebert

Trivia:
• On the DVD cover, there is a French phrase written under the water pipe that reads "Ceci n'est pas une pipe," which means "this is not a pipe." It's a wink to the famous painting of a pipe by the Belgian surrealist painter, Rene Magritte. It's not a pipe... it's a representation of a pipe. Director Josh Gilbert is making his statement with this phase, "This is not a paraphernalia bust. This is over-kill and a travesty of justice.
• This is the movie that the Bush Administration didn't want you to see! During the making of the film, Tommy Chong was under a gag order not to talk about the federal bust. Director Josh Gilbert was careful not to put Chong at risk of breaking the gag order and told Chong's story through creative filmmaking techniques.

DVD Features:
"Dave": Rare interview with Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong about the origins of their sketch, "Dave." It's a touching journey down memory lane.
"Tommy at Home": Offers a rare glimpse of Tommy Chong and his family in the living room discussing Tommy's persecution.

- Review --

a/k/a Tommy Chong depicts the government's wrongful persecution of Tommy Chong via Operation Pipedream. I don't care if you're a pothead, college professor, pro-drugs, anti-drugs, or never even heard of Tommy chong...you'll enjoy this film.

For Cheech and Chong fans, they've included tons of rare home movies, Tommy's stand-up act, old interviews and tv appearances. Director Lou Adler, Cheech and Chong's first agent, Chong's family and other people supply candid stories about Cheech and Chong.

For those interested in free speech and politics, the film discusses how Tommy was the only person from Operation Pipedream to receive a prison sentence. The film also talks about how 9/11 and Tommy Chong's bust helped launch US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan's career.

The frame job...Did you know that an undercover DEA agent repeatedly called and emailed employee's of Chong Glass trying to get them to ship to Pennsylvania? They repeatedly told him no. Josh Gilbert, this film's director, includes the audio of these phone calls.

The DEA agent called and emailed them approximately twenty times stating that he has a tobacco license and asking what the problem was. The employees kept telling him it's against the law. The agent said he spoke to his lawyer and his lawyer said it was legal.

The DEA agent then visited the Chong Glass factory and ordered anything that wasn't in stock. After creating the glass, the DEA agent said he couldn't make it back there to pick up the order. Unfortunately for Chong Glass, this order was taking up a lot of space in the warehouse and was preventing them from fullfilling other orders. Out of desperation, Chong Glass shipped the order to PA.

Forty-five armed agents raided factory which only had one employee there at the time.

It was a setup from the start. Tommy was completely railroaded.

USUALLY SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 5 DAYS

USUALLY SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 5 DAYS

USUALLY SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 5 DAYS

USUALLY SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 5 DAYS