Alvin M. Keeling 
In 2017, a study showed that country music included more drug references than any other kind. Country music’s favorite drug? Cannabis.
For country music fans, it was not so surprising. Sure, country radio may have cultivated an impeccable image and radio programmers of yesteryear may have been hesitant to include a reference to lighting, but country artists’ love affair with marijuana dates back farther than Kacey Musgraves extolling the virtues of rolling a joint or Eric Church singing “Smoke a Little Smoke”.
In fact, classic country is filled with odes to cannabis that go hand-in-hand with stoner anthems like Sublime’s “Smoke Two Joints,” “Hits From the Bong,” and Dr. Dre’s “I Wanna Get High,” The Next Episode (with Snoop Dogg, Kurupt and Nate Dogg), “Legalize It” by Peter Tosh, “How High” by Method Man and Redman, “Marijuana” by Kid Cudi, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” by Bob Dylan, D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar”, Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”, Neil Young’s “Roll Another Number (For the Road)”, Luniz’s “I Got 5 on It” and the reggae classic “Pass the Kouchie” by Mighty Diamonds.
Here are the 25 best country music songs on weed.
Contact High, Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley compares brief relationships with a woman to getting a “contact high” in this cheeky tune.
“Ready to Roll”, Blake Shelton
This song by Blake Shelton Red River Blue recounts a weekend at home with her love in a relaxing puff.
“Worry B Gone”, Guy Clark
Written by Guy ClarkGary Nicholson and Lee Roy Parnell, this song is about shutting down the world for a while and enjoying a few whiffs of “Worry B Gone”.
“Altitude Adjustment”, Midland
Texas The Midland trio take a well-deserved trip to Colorado for a “Rocky Mountain high” with Mary Jane.
“Stoned at the Jukebox”, Hank Williams Jr.
We don’t know if Hank Jr. is stone drunk or just stoned on weed in this song. Either way, it’s a classic piece of heartache.
“Greener Pastures,” Osborne Brothers
The Osborne Brothers wrote this perfect weed song with Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd. It’s part hymn to breaking up, part ode to reefer.
“Reasons to Quit”, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
“Reasons to Quit”, written by Merle Haggard and featured on Willie Nelson and Haggard’s album Pancho and left-handed, takes a darker approach to singing about recreational drug use.
“The reasons to quit, they don’t have a rhyme or a reason when you’re stoned/And the reasons to quit don’t outnumber all the reasons why”, Nelson and Haggard sing. “So we keep on smoking and we keep on drinking / We have fun without ever thinking / And laugh at the price we paid / And we keep roaring in the fast lane like two young men feeling no pain / And the les reasons why I quit smoking are growing every day.”
“Okie from Muskogee”, Merle Haggard
“We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee” – that’s how Merle Haggard kicks off this song about the straight people of Muskogee, Oklahoma. But the tongue-in-cheek nature of the song has led “Okie From Muskogee” to become part of the toking soundtrack of country smokers everywhere.
“Weed, Whiskey and Willie”, Brothers Osborne
The Osborne brothers celebrate three of their favorite things in life in this nod to both a musical and a THC high.
“I got bottles and vinyl stacked up to the ceiling / I get high to survive, it helps to heal” the duo sings. “And when it all goes to hell, the only thing I believe in / Is weed, whiskey and Willie.”
“Weed with Willie”, Toby Keith
The stories of getting high with the king of smokers, Willie Nelson, are legendary. Toby Keith sums up why it’s not for the faint-hearted in “Weed With Willie.”
“Smoke Some Smoke”, Eric Church
Eric Church shakes off a blazing breakup in this song from 2009.
Turn up the silence, turn down the noise / Let this old world go round in circles” The church sings. “I wanna feel it rock, I wanna feel it rock/And put some good in my soul/Drink a little drink, smoke some smoke.”
“You don’t know how it feels”, Tom Petty
A country-rock classic, Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How it Feels” is also considered an all-time great weed song.
“Turtles to the Bottom”, Sturgill Simpson
An intoxicating psychedelic trip, “Turtles All the Way Down” isn’t just about smoking weed. Instead, the tune explores everything from mind-altering substances to philosophy and religion.
“Will You”, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt’s stunning rendition of this Little Feat song references self-medication – for better or worse.
“Get High”, Brandy Clark
Singer-songwriter Brandy Clark tells the story of a wife and mother who turns to smoking weed in her kitchen to escape her troubles for a while.
“Stop Falling and Roll One”, Pistol Annies
Pistol Annies (Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley) fire one up to deal with their growing exhaustion on “Stop Drop and Roll One.”
“It’s high time”, Kacey Musgraves
“High Time,” not Kacey Musgraves’ first or last nod to ganja, finds the singer-songwriter reassessing her priorities.
“It’s high time/To slow my roll/Let the grass grow and lean back,” Musgraves sings. “It’s a good time /
To let it all go / I’ve been too low, so it’s high time.”
“Might as well get screwed”, Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton finds a brief escape from the heartbreak and cares of the world on this song by Traveler.
“Grass Instead of Roses”, Ashley Monroe
Ashley Monroe puts the spark back in a relationship with a request for weed instead of roses.
“Give me weed instead of roses,” Monroe sings. “Bring me whiskey instead of wine / Every puff, every hit, you look better all the time.”
“Everything goes to the pot”, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Willie and Merle teamed up again with a call to legalize it.
“Follow Your Arrow”, Kacey Musgraves
“When the straight way gets a little too straight, roll a joint (or don’t),” Kacey Musgraves sings on this 2013 hit. “Just follow your arrow where it points.”
“Family Tradition”, Hank Williams, Jr.
Hank Williams Jr. traces his family line in this country classic, asking “Hank, why are you drinking? Hank, why are you rolling smoke?”
“Sunday Morning Going Down”, Kris Kristofferson
One of the greatest country songs ever written, Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is about an unhappy narrator, still reeling from the night before, taking stock of his life on a Sunday morning.
“On the Sunday morning sidewalk/ Wishing, Lord, that I’d be stoned,” he sings. “Because there’s something about a Sunday/Makes a body feel lonely.”
“Illegal Smile”, John Prine
One of many examples of by John Prine mind, “Illegal Smile” is about a man trying to escape reality with the help of weed.
When I woke up this morning things looked bad
Seems like total silence was the only friend I had
A bowl of oatmeal tried to stare at me and won
And it was noon before I realized
I was not having fun
Ah, but luckily I have the key to escape reality
And you can see me tonight with an illegal smile
It does not cost very much, but it lasts a long time
Won’t you tell the man that I didn’t kill nobody
No, I’m just trying to have fun
“Roll me up and smoke me when I die” Willie Nelson
Leave it to Willie Nelson to record the ultimate anthem for country music lovers. “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” is Red Headed Stranger’s last will and testament. Fittingly, the song was released on April 20, 2012 (4/20).
“Roll me up and smoke me when I die/And if somebody don’t like it, just look them in the eye,” Nelson sings. “I didn’t come here, and I ain’t leaving / So don’t sit around crying / Just roll me up and smoke me when I die.”
Check out our Cannabis Country playlist below.
