Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Nov 8

Willie Nelson, 93, Says He Will Keep Gigging as Memoir Revisits Health, Cannabis and Politics

Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Nov 8

Willie Nelson, 93, Says He Will Keep Gigging as Memoir Revisits Health, Cannabis and Politics

Q: Why did the ultimate cannabis icon completely change his consumption habits at 86, and how did it transform his creative process?

Willie Nelson changed his cannabis habits at 86 because smoking had become too dangerous for his lungs. He said years of breathing trouble, including pneumonia, emphysema and a collapsed lung, forced him to stop smoking marijuana. In later interviews he put it even more plainly: his lungs had told him, “Don’t do that,” so he no longer smokes anything. He did not give up cannabis itself. Instead, he shifted to edibles and cannabis-infused drinks, using THC and CBD in food and beverages rather than inhaling smoke. That let him continue using cannabis while avoiding the respiratory strain that had built up over decades of smoking cigarettes, marijuana and other substances. Nelson said the switch did not end cannabis’s role in his life or work. He believes it still helps him relax, eases pain, and has affected his songwriting. In the interview tied to *The Last Leaf* and *Dream Chaser*, he said cannabis has helped him “write differently,” suggesting the change in form altered the experience without ending the creative benefits he associates with it. So the turning point was medical, not philosophical: serious lung damage made smoking untenable. The result was a move from smoking to edibles and drinks, which Nelson says preserved the calming and creative effects of cannabis while removing the pain and risk that smoking had begun to cause.

2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Nov 8

Willie Nelson said at 93 he has no plans to retire, calling live shows what he has done all his life and saying he has been “retired for 50 years.”
His new memoir The Last Leaf and this year’s Dream Chaser revisit aging and survival as Nelson says he is lucky to still be here after outliving friends including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.
A collapsed lung pushed Nelson to stop smoking cannabis at 86, but he said he still uses THC and CBD in edibles and drinks to manage pain without harming his breathing.
Nelson also said he disagrees with Donald Trump on “practically everything,” while framing politics as cyclical after earlier public criticism of Trump’s immigration policies.
The interview underscored how Nelson’s late-career focus now spans touring, his cannabis brands and a memoir that treats death as inevitable rather than alarming.

Sources

Left100%

The Guardian2h ago

Willie Nelson Discusses Memoir 'The Last Leaf', Album 'Dream Chaser', Health, and Politics

Rolling Stone2h ago

Willie Nelson Reflects on Marriage and Late-Life Artistry in New Book

How did a country legend survive decades of bad habits to release new music and run a booming cannabis empire at 93?

What drives a 93-year-old music icon to keep touring and creating after outliving all his legendary outlaw country peers?

Why did the ultimate cannabis icon completely change his consumption habits at 86, and how did it transform his creative process?

Sources

2 total

Left100%

The Guardian2h ago

Willie Nelson Discusses Memoir 'The Last Leaf', Album 'Dream Chaser', Health, and Politics

Rolling Stone2h ago

Willie Nelson Reflects on Marriage and Late-Life Artistry in New Book

Willie Nelson, 93, Says He Will Keep Gigging as Memoir Revisits Health, Cannabis and Politics

Summary

Sources

Insights

Sources