The Old Outlaw of Grass Country

78 years old & still going strong. A true outlaw if there ever was one . . .

Willie Nelson gets fine for marijuana possession

June 09, 2011SAN ANTONIO, June 9 — When Willie Nelson is on the road again, he will be travelling without a Texas drug charge hanging over his head.

A West Texas prosecutor said yesterday that the legendary singer and songwriter has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanour charge of possession of drug paraphernalia and has agreed to pay a US$500 (RM1,500) fine plus court costs of about US$280.

“I have given him the option to do it by mail,” said C.R. Bramblett, the county attorney in remote Hudspeth County, where Nelson (picture) was charged with marijuana possession last November.

A Border Patrol officer smelled pot inside Nelson’s tour bus when it was pulled over at a checkpoint.

Bramblett said he has spoken with Nelson’s attorney, and the singer has agreed to the plea deal. Bramblett expects the case to be settled within two weeks.

“All he has to do is sign the papers, and get me a cashier’s cheque for the money,” Bramblett told Reuters.

Bramblett said the case will be dismissed entirely if Nelson stays out of trouble for 30 days.

He says officials have determined that there was a “little bit less than two ounces” of marijuana inside the bus, which allows the case to be treated as a misdemeanour.

Officials had initially reported that as much as five ounces of pot was discovered, which would have made the case a felony.

“He got the same thing I’d give to anybody,” Bramblett said of the settlement. — Reuters