He started smoking bark, now we’re here… 😢
Willie: America’s proudest pothead has decided to hang up his joint.
Willie Nelson, the country music luminary whose name is practically synonymous with lighting up, said in a recent interview that he has stopped smoking marijuana due to breathing issues.
“I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days and I have to be careful,” Nelson, 86, told the San Antonio television station KSAT.
Years of smoking marijuana, the country music legend admits, has taken a toll on his health.
“I started smoking cedar bark, went from that to cigarettes to whatever,” he said. “And that almost killed me.”
It didn’t, so he made a decision.
“I don’t smoke anymore — take better care of myself,” said the Grammy-winning crooner of “On the Road Again.”
Nelson is known for his braids, bandanas and fondness for buds. He is a prominent advocate for the legalization of weed, co-chairing the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
He is also one of a slew of celebrities behind a cannabis-themed business venture. Willie’s Reserve, “a premium cannabis lifestyle brand,” was launched in 2016 in partnership with a New York-based private equity firm.