Willie Nelson Has Quit Smoking Weed

Willie Nelson, country music legend and one of the biggest advocates for legalization of marijuana, has said he quit the stuff.

At 86 years old, Willie has said “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. I don’t smoke anymore. I take better care of myself today."

He continued to talk about the "mistreatment" and "abuse" of his lungs, saying he started smoking cedar bark, and went straight from that to cigarettes, saying "That almost killed me."

Willie smoked his first joint in 1954, back in the day when they were referred to as "jazz cigarettes." He's become synonymous with reefer. Back in August, he had to quit six of his shows because of the breathing problems he's been having. Obviously, lungs are a crucial part of singing (and smoking too).

Nelson says "Weed saved my life. I wouldn’t have lived 85 years if I’d have kept drinking and smoking like I was when I was 30, 40 years old. I think that weed kept me from wanting to kill people. And probably kept a lot of people from wanting to kill me, too — out there drunk, running around.”