Midway through 2017, noted pot smoker Woody Harrelson announced that he’d actually given up using marijuana after, “30 solid years of just partying too fucking hard.” But when you’re a celebrity with a penchant for a good time, a fat joint, and a friendship with Willie Nelson, that only lasts so long. In the September cover story for Esquire, Harrelson explains how his hiatus from cannabis was derailed by none other than Nelson himself.
“See, everybody thinks of Willie as a model of progressive thinking and virtue, and he is, but he’s also got an evil side. Eee-vil,” Harrelson says of his singer-songwriter friend. About a year ago, Harrelson had gone around two years without using pot, even in the presence of Willie. “We’d be playing poker and he’d pass me a vape pen,” Harrelson said. “And I’d say, ‘Willie, man, I don’t do that anymore.’ And he’d act surprised, like it was news to him—every time, just as surprised as he could be.”
The actor explains that on a trip to Hawaii to see Willie Nelson he finally caved after winning a big hand of poker. One thing led to another and the long vacation from cannabis came to an end. “I was in a celebrating mood, so I snatched the pen from him and took a long draw,” Harrelson recalls. Naturally, the only thing Nelson had to say regarding Woody’s fast-breaking puff was, “Welcome home, son.”
Welcome home indeed, Woody.
WHEN DID THEY EVER STOP.