A/k/a Tommy Chong

The film depicts Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong and his legal problems with The Department of Justice. Filmmaker Josh Gilbert follows the tale of Chong as he becomes a target in a government sting, code named "Operation Pipe Dreams". Tommy Chong was the only defendant without a prior conviction to receive a jail sentence. The federal government stated that the reason that it sought this harsh punishment was because the comedy movie Up In Smoke trivialized the government's anti drug efforts. The documentary discloses that Tommy Chong's son, who actually ran the company which sold the paraphernalia was never charged or indicted by the Federal government. In May 2008 federal agents raided the owner of the distribution rights to this DVD. The documentary is critical of the prosecution of Chong by the U. S. federal government led by the U. S. attorney for western Pennsylvania, Mary Beth Buchanan.

The film received positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B", calling it a "slender, revealing documentary, is a portrait of resilience: Chong does his time (nine months) and has the last laugh, emerging as a born again activist survivor of the culture wars." In the New York Daily News, Elizabeth Weltzmen gave the film 2 1/2 stars (of 4), writing, " even those unimpressed with [Cheech and Chong's] genially lowbrow work will be intrigued by the political tenor of this portrait." She continues, "Gilbert blatantly takes Chong's side, so your level of empathy will rise or fall depending on how strongly you connect with his subject." Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe wrote, "This isn't a great piece of nonfiction filmmaking, but it has its moments", stating that Chong's presence in the film lent "a serene counterpoint to the farce Gilbert makes of the Justice Department ", but, "the movie does succeed in showing us the graying cult star as a gratuitous drug war casualty". At review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 71% among 21 selected critic reviews.

On May 7, 2008, federal agents raided Spectrum Labs as part of an investigation related to "drug masking products" used to fool drug tests. Chong alleges that 8,000 to 10,000 copies of his yet to be released documentary, which he claims were seized by the authorities, were the actual focal point of the raid. "It's a way to punish the distributor financially," Mr. Chong said. "There's no way to get the DVDs back until the investigation is over." However, attorneys for Spectrum Labs have said no copies of the documentary were seized. U. S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, who led the investigation, refused to comment on Mr. Chong's allegation.