NELSON CITED

Drugs Were Found on Bus, Police Say

LAFAYETTE, La. - Willie Nelson and four others were issued
misdemeanor citations for possession of narcotic mushrooms and
marijuana after a traffic stop Monday morning on a Louisiana highway,
state police said.

The citations were issued after a commercial vehicle inspection of
the country music star's tour bus, state police said in a news release.

"When the door was opened and the trooper began to speak to the
driver, he smelled the strong odor of marijuana," the news release
said. A search of the bus produced 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and
slightly more than three ounces of narcotic mushrooms.

There were enough drugs to merit a felony charge of distribution if
they had been found in one person's possession, state police said.
But all five claimed the drugs as their own and the drugs were not
packaged for resale, so each was charged with misdemeanors. All were
released after the citations were issued.

Mr. Nelson's publicist, Elaine Schock, said she would have no comment Monday.

Also cited were [redacted]

Mr. Nelson, 73, has been arrested twice before on marijuana
possession, including a high-profile May 1994 arrest in Hewitt, south
of Waco. The charges were dropped the following year.

His relationship with marijuana dates back to the mid 1950s. In his
1988 book, Willie: An Autobiography, he admits fumbling with it on
first try: "I had puffed the joint and blown out the smoke, not
taking the smoke all the way down and holding it like you're supposed
to. I didn't even get a little bit high. I thought: What's the big deal?"

But once he got it right, Mr. Nelson found a respite in pot. He quit
smoking cigarettes, a "three-to-five packs a day" predilection he
called "a horrible habit," thanks to marijuana. He even dramatically
curtailed his drinking.

Yet his penchant for pot doesn't appear to have stifled his
creativity. In fact, he's as prolific as ever. Songbird, his
collaboration with Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, arrives in stores Oct.
31, a mere seven months after the release of You Don't Know Me: The
Songs of Cindy Walker.