For Whom the Bong Chongs

Hey man, Tommy Chong, way late of Cheech & Chong and currently of That '70s Show, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell drug paraphernalia.

The arrest came as part of a federal sting operation aimed at the dread threat of bongs and the like:

Chong's plea came after federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents purchased his paraphernalia and had them shipped to an undercover business. Agents also confiscated his company's paraphernalia during raids of "head shops" in numerous states and confiscated "thousands of marijuana bongs and pipes" in a raid of his Gardena, Calif., business.

The raids were part of a series by the DEA in which at least 55 people were charged with trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia. Officials said the investigation targeted the nation's biggest Internet distributors of paraphernalia.

Chong is the first person to plead guilty in the raids, said U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.

Chong, 64, was released on recognizance bail, but must undergo drug testing and remain in the U.S. District Court jurisdiction of his Pacific Palisades home except to travel for work and court appearances.

He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Sept. 11. Federal guidelines call for six months to one year incarceration, though Buchanan said the government would not make a recommendation to U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.

To put it mildly, this is an astounding waste of taxpaper money and law enforcement resources.

Read all about it the Orlando Sentinel

[Link courtesy of reader Chris Howell]