Willie Nelson had to quit smoking weed after decades because it nearly killed him

Willie Nelson is one of America's most famed stoners, so it'll come as a huge shock that he actually had to give up the green stuff due to the toll it was taking on his health.

Even the best parties can't last forever.

To be fair to the man, he is 89 years of age. The country musician made the revelation in a sit down with KSAT TV a few years back, admitting that smoking so much over the years had 'almost killed' him.

He told the Texan outlet: "Singing out there for an hour is a good workout. Your lungs are the biggest muscle you got, so when you’re out there working, you’re working out.

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"I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days, and I have to be careful.

"I mistreated myself since I was this big. I started smoking cedar bark, went from that to cigarettes to whatever, and that almost killed me.

"I don’t smoke anymore. I take better care of myself now than I did then."

The musical icon went on to address previous rumours that he was 'near death', stating: "I don’t give a f**k, excuse me. I’m here, I’m glad to be here, I’m lucky to be here."

Well, he must be doing something right, having nearly reached the big 9-0. It's quite the feat considering he managed to out-smoke none other than cannabis king Snoop Dogg.

Live on Letterman/CBS

In fact, Willie and Snoop did a tour all around Amsterdam getting high and having a good time, even hitting up KFC when they got the munchies.

We know this thanks to the legendary rapper himself, who was asked about the top smokers during a 2018 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.

"Seth Rogen was here last week, and we were talking about Mount Rushmore of pot smokers, and of course, you are on," said the host.

"And I think that Seth is on Mt. Rushmore. Who would you put on that Mt. Rushmore?"

Snoop was more than happy to oblige, saying: "I would put Bob Marley. I would put Cheech and Chong - they were the first faces on the mountain, they're the ones who showed us what a mountain was."

But when it comes to numero uno, the 50-year-old said: "Willie P. Nelson is definitely on there.

"And by the way, Willie Nelson is the only person who has ever out-smoked Snoop Dogg. I had to hit the 'time out' button."

When asked if he'd ever had to hit that button before, he replied: "Never. Never."

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And Willie later corroborated the story, saying in an interview with Daily Beast: "That was over in Amsterdam!

"I called Snoop and I said, 'Hey buddy, you gotta come over here. This is where it’s at!'

"So he came over and we hit every bar, every smoke place in Amsterdam. We had a helluva time."

We bet it was.

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