Medical Kush Beach Club (a.k.a. the Hash Bar) in Venice Beach was raided last year. The owners were charged with eight counts of money laundering and selling pot. These are California state charges which means if Sean Kush beats them you can bet the Feds (DEA) will file charges against him. The goal here is for the state and federal agencies to throw everything at Sean, a punk musician who also runs and stars in Hashbar TV, hoping to break him financially so he'll be forced to "take a deal."

The good news is Sean kept perfect books; most of the charges are bogus and his innocence will be proven. The tricky part is keeping the financial reality under control. California is trying to prove criminality in the Hash Bar's approach to "medical marijuana." They may laugh at his approach but Sean does have a valid point. One of the healing factors in pot is that it gives the patient a sense of humor. So a carefree club would be very comforting to an AIDS patient, for example.         Sean Kush lights up Tommy Chong

The Hash Bar was/is a great place to forget your troubles. The authorities don't understand how a compassion club is supposed to look like. They'd rather see an "emergency room" with somber patients who are have a "waiting-to-die" look rather than a smile. I told Sean he should take the charges seriously. He just laughed and explained how "pot is actually good for you," especially if you have a life-threatening disease.

The Occupy Los Angeles people have their tent city next to the courtroom so I had a chance to see it up close. The last time I witnessed something like that was in 1969 at the Poor People's March on Washington, DC. Then they built plywood shelters. But they were there for the same reason: recognition. Just see us please! We live in America too, and we don't ask for much - just a portion of your money so we can live like normal human beings.

The "War on Pot" is really more abuse to the middle class. The rich potheads have no problems with their habits because the can buy their way out of jail. As usual it's the poor and nearly poor who suffer. Just give us our weed and we'll disappear. Don't put us in jail; we cost too much and there aren't enough around to hold all the potheads. So have some compassion on your poor brother/sister pothead. Legalize, don't criticize. And save the negative energy for those who lie, steal and cheat - in other words, the Republican Party.

Let my people grow!

Tommy Chong is a Top CelebStoner

Also see:
In Search of the Lost People's Library
More Blogs by Tommy Chong
Cheech & Chong Website
CelebStoner News