News » Snoop Has Willie’s Back, But He Just Turns The Other Cheek





Rapper Snoop Dogg stated his support for Willie Nelson, who was recently arrested in Texas for possession of marijuana. He tells TMZ.com “Willie Nelson is a legend, man… Sometimes y’all need to back up off certain people and have a certain amount of respect for your elders. He’s somebody who lived through many decades of the music business, and hard times. Give him that respect. What you think you are going to gain by arresting Willie Nelson? He got out and he’s back smoking right now… If you got a problem with Willie Nelson, you got a problem with me.”

It was originally reported that Nelson was facing felony charges due to the quantity of marijuana discovered aboard his tour bus – 6 ounces. Upon further investigation however the amount was reduced to 4 ounces, a misdemeanor, greatly reducing the potential penalties. Potentially facing a $10,000 fine and a two years in jail, he is now looking at a maximum payment of $4,000 and 180 days in county jail – it is reported that he will not serve any jail time however.

While the Border Patrol is allowed to search vehicles within 100 miles of the border as “immigration checkpoints” under the Patriot Act, it is widely questioned whether the practice is constitutional. A criminal defense lawyer in Texas, Dick DeGuerin, feels that they are a violation of the 4th Amendment, protecting US citizens from illegal search and seizure. DeGuerin says that he has ” had several cases from that checkpoint and they just use the opportunity to check out anybody they want to. If you have long hair, if you’re driving a van or it looks like you’re from California or you look like a hippie, they do profiling.”

In the spirit of the holiday season however, Willie has turned the other cheek. On his website, he is requesting that his fans donate to the Hudspeth County Sherriff’s Children’s Program, the same department that was responsible for his arrest.

[source San Francisco Chronicle]

Tags: Border Patrol, crime, Hudspeth County, marijuana, pot, Snoop Dogg, Texas, Willie Nelson