Bob Marley and Willie Nelson are two artists whose connections with marijuana are long-running and well-established. It would be easy to simply dismiss this on the surface as a casual pastime; something that is as unremarkable as one person’s obsession with college football, or another’s infatuation with collecting shoes. If you dig deeper, though, what you find may surprise you.
Marley was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who popularized the practice of combining reggae with other forms of music. He became an international icon before his death and a legend after; despite passing away nearly 27 years ago his greatest hits album still sells a quarter million copies per year.
One of the most consistent themes in Marley’s music is the message of freedom. He was a rebel who firmly believed in making one’s own way in the world; this was a theme he not only advocated, but also lived. What’s fascinating about Marley’s approach is that, unlike many musicians whose work seems to be marked or inspired by anger, Marley’s entire presence revolved around love and tolerance.
His most amazing moment may have been in 1978 when he returned to Jamaica in the midst of a civil war. During his One Love Peace concert he invited the two leaders of the warring factions onstage to shake hands.
Think about that: in the middle of a war, Marley’s message of love and peace was so compelling that he was able to get two enemies who were actively trying to kill each other to publicly shake hands. No other artist I’m aware of can claim a similar accomplishment. If nothing else, you have to admit that Marley’s authenticity was absolutely without question.
Willie Nelson is another prolific singer/songwriter, having recorded 72 studio albums, 10 live albums, 37 compilations, 2 movie soundtracks, and worked on 27 collaborations with other artists. At the age of 84 he is still writing, recording, and actively touring. His seemingly inexhaustible energy and inspiration aside, it is interesting that Nelson ever found a place in country music. The stereotypical country western singer is clean-cut and appeals to politically conservative folks, many of whom have opposed the use of marijuana. Nelson’s long braids, casual dress, and unique musical style place him at odds with every country music stereotype that exists – yet every single serious country western fan considers him an icon of the genre.
Nelson’s association with cannabis is so strong that it comes second only to music, and barely at that. It’s a well-known topic among his fellow artists; Toby Keith recorded a humorous song called Weed With Willie in 2003 which was very well-received among fans. Nelson has been a long-time proponent of legalizing cannabis and has written several books on the topic.
Marley and Nelson’s infatuation with weed is well-documented, but not as commonly discussed are the common themes that their music share. I’ve already mentioned Marley’s focus on freedom, love, and tolerance; you may be surprised to find that Nelson’s music is similar in a lot of ways. Willie’s music has often strayed from the stereotypical country western portrayal of a “true” man as hard, unemotional, and unsympathetic. For example, Nelson’s concept album Phases and Stages traces the dissolution of a marriage, but rather than a bitter, one-sided message blaming the other person, he dedicates half of the album to the wife’s perspective and the other half to the husband’s.
Each of our lives are governed by themes; themes that repeat themselves, for whatever number of reasons, throughout our lives frequently enough that they become hallmarks of our character. A quote often attributed to Aristotle is: “You are what you do repeatedly. Excellence, therefore, isn’t an act: it’s a habit.” What we choose to do is what we believe: our virtues are expressed in our actions.
You don’t have to enjoy marijuana or even believe in its ethical neutrality to enjoy Nelson or Marley’s music, but in order to appreciate their contributions as artists you have to appreciate the role cannabis played in it. Not convinced? Consider a few other examples:
Winston Churchill had a tireless work ethic, staying up until 3 am and rising at 8 am to begin again. Churchill used amphetamines to maintain his mental alertness during a time when, to a large degree, the fate of the world rested in his hands. Imagine the outcome of World War II if Churchill had been less productive or put more effort into his golf game.
Vincent Van Gogh was obsessed with absinthe. Well-known side effects of absinthe include its ability to incite hallucinations and cause erratic behavior – hallmarks of who Van Gogh was, and the inspiration for his work. Would he have been as productive or as talented of a painter if this hadn’t been present in his life?
Thomas Edison is known as a prolific inventor: 1,093 patents bear his name. What is less well-known is his addiction to cocaine; he boasted to colleagues that he could go 72 hours before having to take a brief nap. Would we have had the lightbulb, the phonograph, the motion picture, or any other number of cornerstones of modern technology if the “Wizard of Menlo Park” had simply quit inventing whenever he got tired?
Steve Jobs’ early years were marked by LSD and marijuana use; the combination of these two substances created a period of time which he described as feeling “relaxed and creative.” If you want to get philosophical with this description this is, in many ways, a great way to summarize Apple’s approach to technology – and that approach has fundamentally altered the world.
The stereotypical effects of cannabis often include feeling themes such as tolerance and love. While we should probably avoid overemphasizing these – smoking a joint isn’t going to magically fix the thirty-year turf war you’ve had with your neighbor over the rhododendron bushes – but to ignore the contributions that weed made in the lives of these musicians would also be unfair. Each of us is free to draw our own conclusions about the morality of different substances, but we can’t deny that they have effects. Cocaine makes you more productive; LSD makes you more creative; and weed… well, weed may have shortened a Jamaican civil war.
Does marijuana make the world a better place? Maybe. It did for Marley and Nelson.
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