Merle's Marijuana Habit on Hiatus

Merle Haggard is not letting a bout with lung cancer get in the way of his ambitious touring and recording plans.
Seven weeks after the 71-year-old country legend had a lemon-sized tumor removed in what he calls "the greatest test of my fortitude," he said on Wednesday that he expects to work harder in 2009 than he has in 20 years.
Haggard says he is singing better now that he is in the throes of kicking his daily marijuana habit.
Haggard, who once derided pot-smoking hippies in his 1969 hit "Okie From Muskogee," got hooked on marijuana after a doctor said it was a good substitute for his Valium habit.
Reuters blurb HERE