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By Joe Nick Patoski
What is it about Willie Nelson, weed and the law?
It’s been a question worth asking since at least 1971, when Mr. Nelson brought together rednecks and hippies at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin with his unique style of country music and his open attitude about marijuana. His eldest daughter, Lana, and his former wife Connie said pot helped tamp down the rage; he had been a mean drunk when alcohol was his drug of choice.
Mr. Nelson, 77, is perhaps America’s best-known marijuana smoker. He is co-chairman of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has been a High Times cover boy and famously smoked a joint on the roof of the White House when Jimmy Carter was president. His disciples include the actor Woody Harrelson and the country crooner Ray Price, his former employer — each known to have enjoyed a puff now and then. He is the inspiration for Toby Keith’s hit song “(I’ll Never Smoke) Weed With Willie (Again),” which testifies to the quality of Mr. Nelson’s stash.
All that is part of Mr. Nelson’s folklore. It’s when he tangles with law enforcement that things get interesting, though not necessarily all that punitive.
Take his most recent bust. On Nov. 26, Border Patrol agents at the eastbound Interstate 10 immigration checkpoint just west of the far West Texas town of Sierra Blanca arrested Mr. Nelson inside his touring bus, Honeysuckle Rose, after drug-sniffing dogs and the agents’ own olfactory acumen gave them reason to search. Six and one-quarter ounces of high-grade, domestically grown marijuana were discovered. Mr. Nelson was arraigned on a misdemeanor charge, posted a $2,500 bond and went on his way. Afterward, he announced he was forming a new political party, the Teapot Party.
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