Willie Nelson quite famously is a big fan of marijuana. The “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” hitmaker has since quit smoking in recent years. He has said the change in habit was due to problems with his breathing and other health issues. Now, he has opted in favor of edibles. He even wrote a cookbook about it! His son, fellow singer/songwriter Lukas Nelson, also quite enjoyed marijuana for a while.
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However, in an interview with Spin from 2023, Nelson was frank about the fact that he quit marijuana (and most other substances) altogether. And the reason he decided to stop smoking makes a lot of sense.
“One of the main reasons I quit the smoking part of it [marijuana] was because I couldn’t sing as well,” Nelson said in the interview. “So it’s a very practical reason. When I was younger my mind in its natural state was very cloudy and I had a lot of anxieties and things like that. So I used that [marijuana] to mask it. And in a way, I felt like I needed to enhance my creativity because in my natural state, I was so anxious and ridden with preoccupation that I didn’t have the energy to be creative.”
Why Did Lukas Nelson Stop Using Marijuana?
Nelson went on to say that weed helped him at that point of his life to “break free of the patterns mentally”. But like any substance, marijuana can only do so much. In many ways, it can become a small bandaid on a much greater problem.
Nelson noted that everything changed for him and his relationship with the substance during the pandemic in 2020.
“During the pandemic I quit everything,” Nelson said. “I did that with an intention to have mastery over myself. I wanted to be as clear as possible and see what I truly needed in my life and what I didn’t. And so, I decided to quit everything that I did habitually.”
He went on to say that this time around, he realized that he could think much more clearly without the use of drugs and alcohol. So much so that when he did dabble again, it made his mind “cloudy”.
“It almost suppressed me rather than enhanced me,” Nelson continued.
[See Lukas Nelson Live On Tour]
He also went on to say that he definitely doesn’t think cannabis is a bad thing. Rather, he encourages his fans to make informed decisions when it comes to using it. He also pointed to meditation and therapy as excellent alternatives. But for Nelson, getting clean and sober has helped him “get his brain chemistry right” in order to be the best musician he can be.
“I dedicate everything to making myself as efficient for the music as possible,” he said.
Nelson’s performances have been an excellent indicator that getting clean and sober was the right choice. His 2024 tour with his famous country star father, along with quite the list of supporting acts, has been nothing short of incredible. It’ll be exciting to see what Lukas Nelson does next!
Photo by Adam McCullough
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