Tommy Chong

“Life, especially in America, is ruled by corporations.”

“My incarceration was actually a positive thing from the beginning. I needed a gimmick to get my act going again, it gave me material.”

“The GRAMMY was a huge deal. It's the height of any musical career.”

“The trouble when you're doing something illegal is that you know what you're doing. You're lying to your parents, you're lying to your kids. The only person you can't lie to is yourself.”

“Comedy is the ultimate truth. Jazz is hitting the notes that that no one else would hit, and comedy is saying words that no one else would say.”

“To be in a situation where you have no rights whatsoever is something I wish everybody could experience. People's attitudes would change. It would be a better place.”

“What made me a comedian was that I wasn't really a songwriter, I was more of a poet.”

“I'm just glad I can make a difference in someone's life.”

“I know, because I tried all sorts of ways of being in character, and the best way is to be totally straight.”

“The way jazz works is that we take a theme, and then we write using the same structure, same chord changes, and then we can do different tunes.”

“You can't become a dictator through checks and balances.”

“Well I don't know, I might have lost my citizenship, I don't think you can lose your citizenship though.”

“Religion is run by thought police. 'Obey. Listen. This is what you do. Don't ask questions. Go die for your country.' The spirituality says, 'Okay, you can die for your country, but know what you're doing while you're doing it.'”

“There's a hierarchy in prison, and I was right at the top.”

“Well, I had an after hours club in Vancouver and when any of the Motown acts would call.”

“Unfortunately, the American justice system is just riddled with lies and inconsistencies.”

“Activism, to me, I don't know if it really works. It may work for somebody else, but it does not work for me.”

“Everything that happens to me is very cosmic.”

“Jail was probably the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me.”

“The funny thing is, Dennis Miller got me back into comedy.”