Unsurprisingly, talk during Willie Nelson's Tues., June 18, 2019 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon turned to weed, with Nelson jokingly calling himself the "chief testing officer" of his Willie's Reserve brand of marijuana.
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That jovial exchange, during which Nelson admits that "I haven't run across any that I didn't like" while trying out new strands, followed the Red Headed Stranger's testimonial about how getting high saved him from cigarettes and further health complications.
"I used to smoke two or three packs of cigarettes a day and drink whatever there was there to drink," he said when asked about a 2019 Rolling Stone cover story. "I had pneumonia four or five times. My lung collapsed. I almost died. So I said, 'Wait a minute. You know, I ain't getting that high off them Chesterfields.' So I throwed out the cigarettes, rolled up 20 joints, stuck it in there, and I haven't smoked a cigarette since."
Based off his reputation, Nelson was the most logical musical artist to go the cannabis company route, aside from maybe Snoop Dogg.
"Willie Nelson has never made any bones about it," reads a statement on williesreserve.com. "The cannabis culture is a way of life for him. And he has always operated under a simple philosophy: my stash is your stash."
Read More: Willie Nelson Says Weed Saved His Life
The living country music legend returned to late night television to promote the Friday release of his 69th studio album Ride Me Back Home. It includes a cover of "My Favorite Picture of You," the title track from singer-songwriter Guy Clark's final album.
A gruffer-sounding than usual Nelson performed the Clark earworm on air, presenting it in his usual Texas troubadour meets jazz crooner style. Sadly, the performance no longer streams online.
"That song is just kind of infectious. You hear it and you wanna hear it again. At least I do," Nelson told Fallon about the song.
This story originally ran on June 20, 2019.
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