Seventy-eight-year-old country music singer and weed icon Willie Nelson just can’t shake his Texas pot possession case.
Last November, Nelson was busted with six ounces in El Paso, Texas — a state notorious for its harsh treatment of traveling musicians with contraband. (Seriously, if you’re in a van covered in band stickers — you’re getting pulled over.)
On June 8, prosecutors cut a deal that allowed him to pay $780 in fines and court costs. But on Wednesday, Judge Becky Dean-Walker refused the plea bargain. According to the Associated Press, the judge said Nelson is getting special treatment from the prosecutor. Judge Dean-Walker said Nelson should be charged with misdemeanor pot possession and face up to a year in jail.
So, what should Willie Nelson’s sentence for possessing six ounces be? Here are the normal sentences for marijuana possession in Texas, from NORML. Felony? Two years in jail? $10,000 fine? With a $500 fine for the pipe? Or maybe probation with mandatory drug treatment. Clearly, Willie has a problem. Watch his NORML PSA after the jump.
