Lukas Nelson Is Following In The Footsteps Of His Dad, Gives Up Smoking Weed: “I Feel Really Great”

The Nelsons are cutting back on their herbal consumption.

Willie Nelson isn’t the only one who has cut back on the amount of weed he’s smoking; his son Lukas has cut the herb out of his life completely. Earlier this year, Willie Nelson shared with Forbes that he was slowing down, but not with his touring. He shared that he’s been cutting back on the amount of weed he’s smoking.

“Well, I can’t smoke anything anymore. My lungs have already said, ‘Don’t do that.’ So, I don’t really do anything now, much except a few edibles.”

It was known for a while that he couldn’t actually smoke anything, but to hear he’s pretty much quit altogether is surprising. While he might not be rolling joints like he used to back in the day, we at least still have plenty of stories about Willie and weed. It is, after all, a legendary duo.

Just like his father, his son, Lukas Nelson, enjoyed the benefits of the herbal drugs as well, but he, too, is making some significant changes and has cut weed out of his life. During a recent sit-down with Rolling Stone‘s podcast Nashville Now, Lukas shared that during the pandemic, he had a crossroads moment that led him to re-evaluate his vices and take time off the road to form some healthy habits that were sustainable once the world returned to normal.

One of the things that Nelson took a hard look at was his relationship with alcohol and weed:

“I’m good at starting great habits. But then I get on an airplane and I go do something and I’ll travel and it will throw everything out the window. It’s really hard when you’re traveling a lot to have a consistent routine and take care of yourself. But when I get into a zone, it really helps. Being in one place helped me.”

Lukas then breaks down his workout routine that he created during the pandemic, including 100 push-ups, meditation, and more.

“I started to get really high off the feeling of feeling really good about myself. I started to get high off the feeling you get when you wake up and you feel good. I was addicted to that, and I still am.”

Although Lukas was developing all these healthy habits, he admits that it took him a while to make a lasting change. He cut back on his drinking, noticing that even one drink would affect his sleep score, which made him want to stop completely.

But weed was a lot harder for Nelson to cut ou:

“Stopping weed was a lot harder for me. Weed really helped me distract myself from things I was feeling inside that I probably had to face. Making myself face those things and face parts of myself that I don’t like was a difficult choice. But I did it and I’m glad I did it because now I feel really great.”

While Lukas has made a lot of changes surrounding his vices, he admits that he’s not the poster child for sobriety.

“I wouldn’t call it sober completely, because I’ll still do mushrooms. Once a year, twice a year, I’ll do mushrooms and check in with myself. But I don’t do anything habitually more that I don’t like. If I’m going to have a habit, it’s going to be something that’s good for me.”

Lukas jokes that the hardest thing to quit out of them all is indulging in good food. I feel that one, brother.

Host & Senior Editor, Joseph Hudak, then asked Lukas if it was hard for him to let go of weed being tied to one of the most famous potheads in the world- his father. Lukas shared that his relationship with his father hardly changed, given that he was going through major changes with his relationship with weed as well.

“My dad respects individuality. He respects being yourself. He and I both now don’t smoke weed, so that’s great. I don’t think it mattered to him either way…”

Lukas did share that navigating the relationship with the friends he used to smoke with is more complicated than the relationship with his father. Lukas Nelson admits that there is no right or wrong way to approach friendships once you stop smoking, and as time goes on, it becomes clear who is and isn’t in your corner, supporting your choice.

Ending the conversation, Hudak asked how much he was smoking during his prime, to which Lukas replied:

“When I was smoking, I’d smoke six, seven joints a day. It was just to have a baseline of relaxation. I was so into weed.” 

Just because Nelson has stopped smoking does not mean he can’t be around it. He shared that he still enjoys going out and enjoying a non-alcoholic drink with his friends.

Big changes for the Nelson family… but high or not, Lukas Nelson and Willie Nelson are still delivering killer shows and creating great music.

Check out the entire interview while you’re here:

The post Lukas Nelson Is Following In The Footsteps Of His Dad, Gives Up Smoking Weed: “I Feel Really Great” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.