Tommy Chong –actor, comedian, guitarist and director was born in Edmonton, Alberta on May 24, 1938.

We all remember Tommy Chong as the easy going, pot-loving character he has portrayed in film and TV. He is best known as half of the stoner duo, Cheech and Chong. However due to the Bush administrations determination to make an example out of this beloved icon, we now know him as a scapegoat for the American government’s movement against marijuana.

Just before the break of dawn on February 24, 2003, Tommy Chong was sleeping soundly with his wife next to him when a team of drug enforcement agents surrounded his home in the Pacific Palisades, California. Upon opening the door, Tommy and his wife found themselves besieged by twenty armed men running from room to room yelling “clear.�?

Agents seized just under a pound of grass, although marijuana was never listed on the Fed’s search warrant, an addendum was added which Tommy had to sign; marijuana for which Tommy has a legal prescription.

It took hours before Tommy was able to get any answers from the team of DEA agents invading his home and privacy at 5:30 in the morning.

So why had the Attorney General of the United States ordered the implementation of a nationwide raid utilizing hundreds of special drug enforcement agents and police, helicopters and automatic weapons?

Bongs. This dangerous and expensive nationwide raid was targeting the sale of Bongs in the United States. The cost of Operation Pipe Dream was around twelve million dollars.

Halfway across the country Chong Glass was being raided by a team of armed special agents with helicopters circling above while all the bongs and computers were confiscated.

Tommy was grateful for his fear of guns, and the resulting fact that he did not own a single weapon. He realized how badly the invaders wanted to find a gun which would have resulted in a very long jail sentence for Tommy.

Tommy Chong was told he could plead guilty to one count of “conspiring to sell and distribute pot pipes across state lines�?, or they would charge both his wife and son and they would all go down. He agreed to accept the plea.

Tommy Chong was sentenced to be incarcerated for nine months and fined $250,000 for selling water pipes over the internet. The Fed’s had captured the kingpin of pot culture, the “Pope of Pot.�?

The action known as Operation Pipe Dreams is part of a continuing effort on the part of Attorney General John Ashcroft to rid the Unites States of the ability to smoke weed with a little style.

In the last couple of days, however, he has overseen the arrest of at least 55 people whose only stated crime was the manufacture and selling of tobacco accessories.
“People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug dealers,” gloated acting DEA administrator John B. Brown III. “They are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part of criminal homicide.”
“Today’s actions send a clear and unambiguous message to those who would poison our children,” chimed in drug czar John Walters. “We will bring you to justice, and we will act decisively to protect our young children from the harm of illegal drugs.”
Advocates for drug reform weren’t buying it. “At a time when the rest of the country is worried about terrorism, this attorney general is going after people who sell pipes,” NORML founder Keith Stroup told the Associated Press. “Surely he has something better to do with his time.”
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of Drug Policy Alliance suggested that the busts were aimed at scoring political points. Nadelmann told the AP, “It would be more logical — although I’m not suggesting this — to prosecute people who sell beer mugs, because of the poison consumed in them.”
Given the mass raids and arrests, the Bush administration’s tactic appears to have exhausted itself with little consequence. Is the United States a safer place for children as a result of Operation Pipe Dreams? I highly doubt it has made a difference upon the plight of drug addiction in America.

This year will feature former RCMP officer and past director of security of the University of Victoria, Hunter McDonald, who is now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Other speakers include Greg ‘Marijuana Man’ Williams, who was arrested with Marc Emery and is also fighting extradition to the US, author Chris Bennett, lawyer Robert Moore-Stewart, Seattle Green Cross founder Joanna McKee and Dana Larson, owner of Vancouver Seed Bank and founder of eNDP Prohibition. The 8th Annual Cannabis Convention is at the University of Victoria, in the David Lam Auditorium, 1-4:20 pm. Free admission. Contact: hempology@gmail.com

Hunter McDonald was involved in the arrest of Ted Smith at the University of Victoria of Nov 8, 2000 and informed him that he was not allowed back on campus until the end of the court proceedings. Ted politely informed him that not only would he be allowed back on campus, but that he would be teaching classes before Mr. McDonald retired. In an article in the Martlet, Nov 20, 2003 he was asked about the weekly 420 Hempology 101 meetings. “It’s not on our radar. We have much bigger problems to deal with: sexual assaults, violence and rapes,� said Hunter McDonald, Director of Campus Security. “If you look at the problems we have, they don’t involve kids smoking dope at the fountain.�
Hunter is now a private investigator.

Greg Williams was arrested with Marc Emery and Michelle Rainey in July 2005, and charged with conspiring to distribute marijuana seeds, money laundering and conspiring to cultivate cannabis by US DEA officials who have applied for all three to be extradited to that country. Since that time Greg has been the manager of the popular web site POT.TV. The extradition hearings begin in May, 2007.

Chris Bennett has written two excellent books on the history of cannabis and prohibition, GREEN GOLD, THE TREE OF LIFE; MARIJUANA IN MAGIC AND RELIGION, and SEX, DRUGS, VIOLENCE AND THE BIBLE. He will talk about the historical medical uses of cannabis.
Joanna McKee founded the Green Cross Patient Cooperative in 1993, giving free cannabis to patients until she was arrested in 1995. A judge eventually threw out charges against her, and she has since retired from the front line. She will be telling us her story and giving us an update on the medical clubs in the USA.

Robert Moore-Stewart represented local activist Ted Smith in four trials and two others related to police raids at the CBC of C. He has also represented some growers and members of the club in various circumstances while practicing law in Victoria. He will be talking about the current status of the laws in Canada.

Dana Larson has been involved in various cannabis and anti-prohibition groups for over a decade on the West Coast. Former editor of Cannabis Culture, Dana has opened a new store, the Vancouver Seed Bank, on Hastings Street with the hope of using his seed sales to further the legalization movement. He has formed eNDProhibition to educate supporters and representatives of the NDP about the follies of the drug war and the benefits of legalizing cannabis.

This promises to be one of the most exciting annual conventions the society has ever hosted. The UVSS Hempology 101 Club has been growing in numbers every year, and with the excellent line-up of speakers for this year, attendance should be the best ever.

Donations Gratefully Accepted
Annual Subscription to printed version $10

Contact CANNABIS DIGEST at: (250) 381-4220 or hemp101@shaw.ca

Cannabis Digest is a quarterly publication of the International Hempology 101 Society, which provides current legal, medical, and political updates concerning the medicinal use, growth and supply of cannabis. The Cannabis Buyers’ Clubs of Canada helps people with permanent physical disabilities and diseases. The Cannabis Digest is available online and in newsprint.

Thanks to our contributors: Ted Smith, Gayle Quin, Veronica Horn, Carola Schleuss and Dave Hodgkinson.

They are not only delicious, but made with a cold infused process, with bud stalk soaked in extra virgin olive oil for 1 month. It has never been heated in the extraction process and so seems to have an exceptional clarity of the head to the stone, while also having great pain killing and muscle relaxing qualities.

You may make your own crispy squares by using any rice crispy square recipe and substituting Cannoil for the butter or margarine in the recipe. Don’t forget to use lecithin also to help with the absorbency of the THC and CBD’s in the oil. For those of you who were lucky enough to see Santa Cannabis and try some of his Poppy-Pot treat (and especially for those who didn’t), he has been kind enough to let us include his recipe!

Poppy-Pot Recipe: 4 cups freshly popped corn lightly salted, 1cup nuts, 1cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lecithin, 1/3 cup pot butter or Cannoil, 1/2 cup corn syrup (light), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Directions: Put popcorn and nuts in shallow roasting pan (large pan). In heavy saucepan mix sugar, lecithin and corn syrup. Stir over medium heat until boiling. Continue boiling 5 min. without stirring. Remove from heat; add vanilla, pot butter or Cannoil, baking soda, and mix well.

Pour over popcorn and nuts; stir to coat well. Stir several times while cooling to keep from sticking together too much. Cool, break apart and store in tightly covered container.

Cool on lightly buttered pan. This recipe for Poppy-Pot serves / makes 4 cups.