Paul McCartney Was Arrested for Growing Marijuana on His Farm in 1973
Paul McCartney bought High Park Farm in Scotland in 1968. It’s where he rode out The Beatles’ breakup, where he found peace among nature in a post-Beatles world, and where he got arrested in 1973 for growing marijuana.
Paul McCartney’s farm at High Park
Before The Beatles called it quits, the band was as popular as ever. It was in that Beatle frenzy that McCartney’s then-girlfriend Jane Asher encouraged him to purchase High Park. Eventually, the two broke up. But the farm is where newlyweds McCartney and Linda Eastman made a life together.
“Going up to Scotland was real freedom,” he said, according to The Herald. “It was an escape – our means of finding a new direction in life and having time to think about what we really wanted to do… It was like, ‘Let’s escape – we’ll just run away’. And we did, we just ran away. And Linda was a great nature lover. That very much informed our relationship.”
The farm is where Paul and Linda created Ram together.
“As I’m driving, I’m just thinking,” he said. “Linda often used to say she can see my brain working. My face would get a look on it. It would just be me, filing through ideas… And I just hit upon the word ‘ram’. It’s strong, it’s a male animal and then there’s the idea of ‘ramming’ you know pushing forward strongly… very short, very succinct; the kind of title you wouldn’t forget.”
Eventually, Paul bought five neighboring farms to expand the grounds.
Paul McCartney was busted for growing weed on his farm in Scotland
In March 1973, police discovered more than vegetables growing at Paul’s farm. He was arrested and fined $240 for “illegal cultivation.” At the time, he said that a fan had gifted him some seeds. He didn’t know what they were so he decided to plant them and discover what popped out. To his surprise, it was marijuana!
The conviction led to further complications for the musician. As a result of the arrest, he was denied a visa by the U.S. government. But the ban was eventually lifted in December 1973.
Other times Paul McCartney got busted for possession of marijuana
On the farm wasn’t the only time Paul got in trouble for possession of marijuana. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, he’d been fined in Sweden for the same reason the year prior. In 1975, he was arrested again in Los Angeles. In 1980, he was busted in the Tokyo airport—customs officers found marijuana in his luggage. And in 1984, he was busted in Barbados.
“Cannabis is less harmful than rum punch, whiskey, nicotine and glue, all of which are perfectly legal,” he said. “I don’t think I was doing anyone any harm whatsoever.”
In 2015, Paul claimed to stop smoking weed to set an example for his children and grandchildren. “I don’t do it anymore,” he told The Mirror. “Why? The truth is I don’t really want to set an example to my kids and grandkids. It’s now a parent thing. Back then I was just some guy around London having a ball, and the kids were little so I’d just try and keep it out of their faces.”
