Cannibus Crimes: When Musicians Roll Before They Rock

Fabolous you've got some jail time ahead of you. 500 lbs of weed? You crazy? Where did you keep that shyyt? In the luggage compartment? Or were you driving one of those Cheech & Chong-inspired tourbuses? Steering wheel made out of weed. Flat screen made out of weed. Bunk curtain made out of weed. I hope you have yourself some good effin' lawyers. But don't worry you're not the only one out there whose ever rolled before they rocked. But Fabo, my man, 500 fuckin' pounds of weed. Take a page from Neil Young's book, who once said, "I try not to smoke too much. I don't wanna set a bad example for the kids." Fabo, 500 lbs of weed will make you stoooooopiiiiid. Here are some other rock n roll, bong-ripping stoner musicians.


Paul McCartney: During his Wing days McCartney brought over half a pound of pot into Japan. a country that originally didn't want to give him a visa due to his prio when r pot convictions in UK. Total stoner move. McCarteny spent 9 days in a Japanese prison before beign deported. Wings' sold out series of Japanese dates were canceled and McCartney had to strawberry cough over $350,000 to cover expenses lost by his Japanese promoters. Prior to this incident Macca was booked twice in 1972: on tour in Sweden, and then for growing cannabis on his Scottish farm. Another arrest came in 1984 he tried to buy weed on the beach in Barbados.

Willie Nelson - Back in 2006 a 73-year-old Willie Nelson was given a misdemeanor citation for when police confiscated one and a half pounds of marijuana and 91 grams of mushrooms (see above photo) on Nelson's tourbus during a routine traffic stop in Saint Martin Parish, LA. Nelson plead guilty and was spared jail time. None the less it brought a new meaning to the Nelson tune "On The Road Again."

Flavor Flav - Chuck D was no where in sight when his Public Enemy cohert Flavor Flav was busted riding his bike around the Bronx with a huge bulge in his jacket. The NYPD tat pulled him over, this being in 1996, found a kilo sized brick of marijuana on rapper.

Louis Armstrong - "We did call ourselves Vipers, " Armstrong said in an autobiography, "which could have been anybody from all walks of life that smoked and respected 'gage'. That was our cute little name for marijuana, and it was a misdemeanor in those days. Much different from the pressure and charges the law lays on a guy who smokes pot." Armstrong was busted smoking gage in a parking lot during an intermission to one of his gigs in 1931. Armstrong continued explaining the incident, "Then this Dick (detective) confidentially told me, he said, Armstrong, this wouldn't have happened if that band leader - he probably smoked marijuana himself - who's playing just up the road from you, and the big name that he's supposed to have, didn't get jealous because you are doing bigger business than him. So he dropped a nickel on you (meaning) he dropped a nickel into the telephone and called us and stoolpigeon on you."

Art Garfunkel - Art Garfunkel, half of '60s duo Simon and Garfunkel, likes to toke and drive. The singer has been arrested twice for weed possession after cops pulled him over for speeding and running a stop sign. Garfunkel aged 63, pleaded guilty and was slapped with some fines.

Mick Jagger - Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger accused police of planting cannabis and "white powder" at the Chelsea home he shared with Marianne Faitful after a raid in 1969. Jagger said a cop tried to bribe him for £1,000 but was eventually found guilty, fined £200 and ordered to pay 50 guineas in costs. Two years earlier Jagger was also arrested for weed possession that landed him a year in prison, but got out after three days due to an appeal.

Jimi Hendrix - Hendrix was a bit luckier than Jagger when in May 1969 Canadian customs officials found heroin and hashish in his luggage at the Toronto International Airport. Playing it cool Hendrix claimed that they weren't his and that the candy was slipped into his bag by a fan. He was acquitted of the charges.

David Bowie/Iggy Pop - Only 29 at the time of the arrest, David Bowie was busted for felony marijuana possession at the Americana Rochester Hotel in Rochester, NY with three others, including fellow rocker Iggy Pop. Police confiscated half a pound of marijuana from Bowie's three-room suite following a March 1976 concert. Facing up to 15 years in the slammer, Bowie pleaded not guilty to the charges.

George Harrison - The Beatle with the best pants came home in 1969 to a drug raid at the home he shared with his wife Patti Boyd. Police came with a pack of dogs,and a search warrant and found 120 marijuana joints. Harrison was quoted, "You needn't have turned the whole bloody place upside down. All you would have had to do is ask and I would have shown you where I keep everything."