Saturday, September 23, 2006

Willie Nelson Has Earned The Right To Smoke The Occasional Bong


It's surely not easy to be a classic country singer these days. Johnny Cash? Dead. Hank Williams Jr.? Accused of choking a woman with the improbable name of Holly Hornbeak. And Willie Nelson? Hit with four misdemeanor drug citations after a "routine"* traffic stop turned up a beatnik's paradise-worth of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms on his legendary tour bus.

Not particularly shocking, considering how open Nelson has always been about his drug use. But it does underscore the utter ridiculousness of making certain all-natural drugs illegal. I'm not a doctor, lawyer or psychologist, so I don't feel qualified to speak on the many medical, legal and social fallacies involved. That said, I know a victim when I see one, and I fail to see one in a case that involves four old people smoking weed and doing 'shrooms on the back of a bus. And if there's no victim, why is it slowing down the courts and infringing on the accused's pursuit of happiness?

Besides, if Hank Williams Jr. can get away with choking waitresses, Willie should certainly be allowed to get stoned. He's Willie fucking Nelson!

----------
* Can a traffic stop involving Willie Nelson's tour bus, or any tour bus, really be considered routine? A Toyota Camry, that's routine. A tour bus, not so much.

No comments: