Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is an American country music singer. Born on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas, he is a major activist for the legalization of cannabis in the United States.

He was raised by his grandparents. At the age of 7, he learned to sing and play guitar. He joined his first band at the age of 10. While a student at Abbott High School, he joined a band called Bohemian Polka, where they started local tours.

After graduating, he joined the US Air Force, but due to back problems, he stayed less than a year. Subsequently, he began a musical career and achieved growing success. Willie Nelson is associated with the outlaw country style, a subgenre of country music that aims to be «outlaw» in opposition to traditional country music. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee, then to Austin, Texas. In the 1960s, his songs Crazy, Touch Me or even Willingly reach the Top Ten.

He met with great success and released his book in 1988 titled: Willie Nelson, An Autobiography. In 1993, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He became a musical legend and even has a street named after him in Austin: Willie Nelson Boulevard.

Willie Nelson and his relationship with cannabis

Willie Nelson smoked both cigarettes and cannabis. He was first arrested in 1975 in Austin for marijuana possession. He also smoked two to three packs a day. But in 1981, while swimming in the waters of Hawaii, his lungs gave out and he had to be hospitalized at Maui Memorial Hospital, where he suffered from pneumonia. As a result, he had to make a choice: quit the joints or the cigarettes. He then decided to stop smoking cigarettes.

After being arrested again in 2010 for marijuana possession in Sierra Blanca, Texas, where law enforcement found 150 grams of pot in his tour bus, he decided to become a pro-cannabis activist and founded his movement, the Tea Pot Party whose motto is « Tax it, regulate it, and legalize it! ».

In an interview after his arrest, he stated: «I don't drink anymore. Alcohol has always been my biggest problem. I haven't used cocaine or anything. Alcohol has always been my enemy, and as far back as I can remember, as soon as I stopped drinking and smoking cigarettes, all my problems disappeared.».

On its Facebook page, it now has over 110,000 fans. It has the support of many celebrities, including the West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg or the comedian Tommy Chong. The latter even expressed about him: «If Willie gets involved in something, you can be sure it's going to be big and you're going to get a big slap!»

Furthermore, a statue in his honor was unveiled on April 20, 2012. A ceremony was planned for the occasion, at exactly 4:20 PM. The singer played and sang his famous hit Roll me up and smoke me when I die 

Today, Willie Nelson is co-chairman of NORML, a non-profit organization a supporter of cannabis legalization. He entered the US cannabis market in 2016, where he created his own cannabis brand, Willie's Reserve. Willie Nelson also advocates for the amnesty of people imprisoned for cannabis-related offenses.

Is Willie Nelson sick?

Willie Nelson has suffered from respiratory problems for several years, partly related to decades of smoking and consuming smoked cannabis. He has canceled several concerts in recent years due to health reasons and has stated that he has stopped smoking cannabis in favor of other methods of consumption like edibles and vaporizers. In 2023, he canceled part of his tour to pace himself, fueling rumors about his health — however, he remains active and continues to perform on stage regularly.

Willie Nelson lives in Texas.

Willie Nelson lives primarily in Luck, Texas, on a ranch he named «Luck, Texas,» which serves as both his primary residence and an occasional filming location for independent Western films. He also owns a property in Maui, Hawaii, where he spends part of the year, within a self-sufficient community where all the houses use only solar electricity.