Willie Nelson fined for pot charge

Willie Nelson will pay a $787 US fine to settle a charge of marijuana possession, a Texas county court decided on Wednesday.

Nelson, 78, was arrested in November at a Texas Border Patrol checkpoint because of a suspicious aroma coming from his tour bus.

Hudspeth County attorney Kit Bramblett also confirmed that Nelson will not be required to sing Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain for the judge in the case.

Judge Becky Dean-Walker said that suggestion, made by Bramblett in March, was "a joke that got out of hand."

Instead, Nelson can pay by mail — a $500 fine and $287 in court costs — after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge.

Officials have determined that there was a "little bit less than two ounces" of marijuana inside the bus, Bramblett said.

Nelson, an unrepentant marijuana user and member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has been arrested before. In 2006, he was also charged with a misdemeanour after being found with marijuana and magic mushrooms. He paid a fine and was sentenced to six months of probation.

The veteran country star, known for hits such as On the Road Again and Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, is travelling through the U.S. this summer with his Country Throwdown Tour. He headlines for a host of young country singers such as Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Craig Campbell and Brantley Gilbert.