It’s no secret that Willie Nelson is fond of weed: he recently announced he’ll market his own brand of recreational marijuana, “Willie’s Reserve.”
But pot is not the only drug the “On the Road Again” singer has tried over the years. In his new memoir, It’s a Long Story: My Life, out this week, he recounts an experiment with LSD in the ’70s. “Could I expand my mind?” he asked himself while deciding to take the plunge. “Could I lose my ego?”
He may not have lost his ego, but he did lose his grasp on reality. Nelson accidentally took triple the amount his “hippie friend” recommended just two hours before a concert, and had to perform while tripping.
As I started singing, my voice sounded like it was coming from inside a cave. Didn’t sound like my voice at all … The flickering lights out in the crowd took the form of fiery figures. Was I freaking? Were there demons out there?
Once offstage, he felt even more panicky, but realized he had to relax as much as possible because his trip worsened with anxiety. When it was over, he decided he would never drop acid again.
[E]xperimenting with LSD convinced me that I had already found the high that worked for me. My love affair with pot became a long-term marriage. It was, by far, the smoothest of all my marriages. Pot and I got along beautifully. Pot never brought me down, never busted my balls. Pot got me up and took me where I needed to go. Pot chased my blues away. When it came to calming my energy and exciting my imagination, pot did the trick damn near every time I toked.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year
- Why We Chose Trump as Person of the Year
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good or Bad for You?
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- The 20 Best Christmas TV Episodes
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com