A Bad Trip for Tommy Chong: 9 Mos. in Jail
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Actor Tommy Chong of the spaced-out, dope-smoking comedy duo "Cheech & Chong" was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined $20,000 on Thursday for distributing marijuana pipes over the Internet.
The 65-year-old Canadian-born entertainer, wearing a dark business suit and shoulder-length hair, asked U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab for a sentence of community service, saying in a statement read by his lawyer that he was not the perpetually stoned loser he portrays in Hollywood films.
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But the judge ruled that jail time was appropriate for a felony charge of conspiring to distribute drug paraphernalia, which Chong pleaded guilty to last May. Chong will also receive drug treatment behind bars and spend a year on probation.
Federal sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of six to nine months and a fine of up to $250,000.
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