77:. When Paris persistently refused, agents went to the place of business in person and ordered a massive quantity of out of stock merchandise. The merchandise was crafted but not picked up and sat idle in the warehouse as federal agents again pressured Paris to ship it. To get the merchandise out of his warehouse, DEA agents became employees and shipped the merchandise. In a
81:, Chong agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute drug paraphernalia in exchange for non-prosecution of his wife, Shelby, and his son, Paris. Federal Prosecution admitted to being harsher on Chong in retaliation, citing Chong's movies as trivializing "law enforcement efforts to combat drug trafficking and use."
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was sentenced
September 11, 2003, to 9 months in a federal prison, a fine of $ 20,000, forfeiture of $ 103,000 in assets, and a year of probation. Chong was charged for his part in financing and promoting Chong Glass Works/Nice Dreams, California-based companies started by his son Paris. Unlike most
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had a policy in place for refusing to sell bongs to states where the statute was being enforced. Federal agents, disguised as head-shop owners, pressured Paris Chong to sell them his pipes and deliver them through the mail to a fictitious shop in the
34:, under a little-used statute. Due to the reluctance of state law-enforcement agencies to contribute resources to the operation, most cases were filed in
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42:, taking advantage of the statute's prohibition on the use of "the mails or any other facility of interstate commerce to transport drug paraphernalia."
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Hundreds of businesses and homes were raided as a result of
Operation Pipe Dreams. Fifty-five people were named in indictments and charged with
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The estimated cost of
Operation Pipe Dreams was over $ 12 million and included the resources of 2,000 law enforcement officers.
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employed 25 glass blowers who were paid an hourly wage of $ 30 (equivalent to $ 50 in 2023) to produce 100 pipes a day.
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was an
American nationwide investigation in 2003 targeting businesses selling
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specialized in selling high-end bongs as collectible works of art. The
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159:"Film: A celebrity target for Operation Pipe Dreams"
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225:Drug Enforcement Administration operations
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47:trafficking of illegal drug paraphernalia
16:2003 American drug enforcement operation
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132:"DEA Summary of Operation Pipe Dreams"
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103:Mikulan, Steve (December 4, 2003).
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157:Dargis, Manohla (June 16, 2006).
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164:International Herald Tribune
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75:Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
220:Anti-cannabis operations
194:on the story of Chong.
105:"Chong Family Values"
54:shops selling bongs,
20:Operation Pipe Dreams
210:2003 in American law
24:drug paraphernalia
191:a/k/a Tommy Chong
138:on April 22, 2023
60:Chong Glass Works
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215:2003 in cannabis
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28:marijuana pipes
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186:Josh Gilbert
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168:. Retrieved
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142:November 22,
140:. Retrieved
136:the original
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114:. Retrieved
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79:plea bargain
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40:Pennsylvania
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66:Nice Dreams
56:Nice Dreams
51:Tommy Chong
204:Categories
184:Filmmaker
88:References
73:suburb of
71:Pittsburgh
26:, mostly
170:May 29,
116:May 29,
32:bongs
172:2019
144:2020
118:2019
38:and
36:Iowa
30:and
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161:.
107:.
95:^
174:.
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120:.
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