Willie Nelson Says Smoking Marijuana “Saved My Life” As He Reflects Ahead Of 90th Birthday

Willie Nelson country music
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The great Willie Nelson is turning 90 years old in April.

And of course, there will rightfully be a huge celebration in honor of the country icon, in the form of a two-day concert dubbed: Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday.

The shows will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 29th (his actual birthday) and 30th, 2023, at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, with some incredible artists slated to perform, like Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges, Lukas Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers, just to name a few.

Really, it’s going to be simply incredible…

And not only does he have that party to look forward to, Willie’s releasing a new record called I Don’t Know A Thing About Love in March, making it his 98th career studio album in total.

With nearly nine decades of life under his belt, Willie recently told E! News some of his secrets to living a long and happy life, starting with his outlook and mindset:

“I wish I could tell you. I really don’t know, except that I really do believe in imagining what you want to do and let it happen.

And that’s my full philosophy and it’s working.”

I’d say that’s probably even an understatement…

He added that one of the things he’s had to work on, though, even still is just being honest with others about everything, whether it’s hurtful or not:

“Well, I believe in honesty. I believe in being truthful even when it hurts.

And I think that’s a hard one for everybody to grasp, and that’s what I keep tellin’ myself.”

And of course, he’s been a longtime advocate for marijuana and the legalization of it across the country, and even opened his own cannabis company, Willie’s Reserve, in 2015.

He credits it for saving his life, as well as other people’s lives, because it helped him majorly cut back on drinking and the dangers that come with drinking too much too often:

“Well, it not only saved my life, it probably saved some other people’s lives,” he explained, “because before I smoked marijuana, I was drinking a lot.

And I might have killed a lot of people, too. So I’m just glad that that didn’t happen. I’m glad we live through all of bad times.”

If that ain’t the most willie Nelson secret to life there is, I don’t know what could be…

But he’s a man after my heart, as he says that he’ll still have a drink of tequila every now and then, too:

“I still take a drink of tequila occasionally, but not like I used to.”

And when asked what he wanted his legacy to be, it’s quite simple…

“Oh, that I always showed up.”

I would add that he showed up, played the music he wanted to play, paved the way for country outlaws everywhere, and became a country icon…

Not too shabby for 90 years old.

Here’s to legend himself, and make sure you check out the full interview here:

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