Yes, this is Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong, and if you have the time to listen this is a very inspirational talk that he gave at the Free Library of Philadelphia!
In this podcast he talks about…
– Corruption in the DEA and why the war on drugs is foolish but will never end
– Mind altering substances as a path to enlightenment
– How prison helped him
– How much he loves the bible
– Jesus’ message to us
– Spending time in an Indian sweat lodge
– How to raise children
…and more! All with his trademark laid back style of humor.
Another senseless victim of the incoherent "War on Drugs"
He made several valid speaking points too. Several states have a vaguely worded "Drug paraphernalia" laws, not to mention various similar county and city ordinances.
The problem is that, as Tommy points out, is that pretty much any common items can be considered Drug paraphernalia.
some of these include soda straws, spark plugs, dollar bills, clothespins, paper clips, straight pins, tweezers, cigarettes and cigars, bison tubes (those little keyring pill holders), stamps. stickers, washcloths, pipe and tubing sections, cigarette lighters, and ballpoint pens.
Consider too that many Mediterranean cultures smoke flavored tobacco through hookahs and bongs are sompy a more portable form of the Hookah.
There is something else that I noticed in Chong's talk.
It illustrates how different religions and philosophies combine to give birth to new belief systems.
Late in the talk Tommy develops a novel interpretation of Christianity through the application of Lakota tribal beliefs.