{"id":1317106,"date":"2019-12-04T11:40:35","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T18:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1815368"},"modified":"2019-12-04T11:40:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T18:40:35","slug":"the-reasons-why-willie-nelson-has-weaned-off-weed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/the-reasons-why-willie-nelson-has-weaned-off-weed\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reasons Why Willie Nelson Has Weaned Off Weed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"byline\"> by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/bonaguroa\/\" title=\"Posts by Alison Bonaguro\" rel=\"author\">Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\"><br \/>\n32m ago<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no secret that Willie Nelson is a proud stoner. But it\u2019s also no secret that long-term marijuana use wreaks havoc on your lungs. And Nelson\u2019s lungs are basically his life. <\/p>\n<p>So the pot had to go. <\/p>\n<p>With the news that Nelson has recently sworn off marijuana, some of his fans and followers are wondering if his shows will be the same without the perpetual high he\u2019s been on since 1954. <\/p>\n<div class=\"photo\" id=\"00f1c6f0\">\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;img&quot;}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.85&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=481 481w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=660 660w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=768 768w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=980 980w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1200 1200w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1500 1500w, http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:file:http:shared:cmt.com\/news\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/04\/GettyImages-53303190-1492553371.jpg?quality=0.8&amp;format=jpg&amp;width=1800 1800w\" title=\"Willie Nelson At Home In Texas\" class=\" js-srcset-img shortcode-image \" alt><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photocredit\"> Liaison\/Getty Images <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At a recent show in Houston, Nelson told the crowd at the Majestic Theater that he has no plans to give up touring. But that he is giving up the marijuana that he admitted is finally too dangerous to smoke. <\/p>\n<p>The 86-year-old explained that getting high is no longer an option for him and his compromised lungs. \u201cI have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past,\u201d he said, \u201cso breathing is a little more difficult these days and I have to be careful. I started smoking cedar bark, went from that to cigarettes to whatever. And that almost killed me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t smoke anymore, I take better care of myself today,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n<p>According to the U.S. Department of Health &amp; Human Services, marijuana not only has immediate effects like distorted perception, difficulty problem solving, and loss of motor coordination, but long-term use can cause respiratory infection, impaired memory, and exposure to cancer-causing compounds.<\/p>\n<p>Nelson reportedly smoked his very first joint when he was just 20 years old, and he has been an outspoken advocate for marijuana legalization almost ever since. But his lungs are what breathe life into his legendary voice, the instrument he needs every time he takes a stage. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour lungs are the biggest muscle you have got. So when you\u2019re out there working, you are working out,\u201d he shared. <\/p>\n<p>Ironically, in a semi-recent interview, Nelson gave marijuana credit for saving his life. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have lived 85 years if I\u2019d have kept drinking and smoking like I was when I was 30, 40 years old,\u201d he\u2019d said. \u201cI think that weed kept me from wanting to kill people. And probably kept a lot of people from wanting to kill me, too \u2014 out there drunk, running around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re pretty sure Nelson\u2019s hits about getting high will stand the test of time forever.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kn-AB78kvvE?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kn-AB78kvvE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A6c6eUeoa9Q?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A6c6eUeoa9Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>But Toby Keith will officially never smoke weed with Willie again.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QJ9cuA93vG0?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QJ9cuA93vG0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\"> Alison makes her living loving country music. She&#8217;s based in Chicago, but she&#8217;s always leaving her heart in Nashville. <\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/alisonbonaguro\" target=\"_BLANK\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@alisonbonaguro<\/a> <\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1815368\/the-reasons-why-willie-nelson-has-weaned-off-weed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Alison Bonaguro 32m ago It\u2019s no secret that Willie Nelson is a proud stoner. But it\u2019s also no secret that long-term marijuana use wreaks havoc on your lungs. And Nelson\u2019s lungs are basically his life. So the pot had to go. With the news that Nelson has recently sworn off marijuana, some of his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1317106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 14:49:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}