With burning joints raised high, about 200 marijuana industry employees and representatives celebrated the arrival of country music legend and marijuana advocate Willie Nelson on Tuesday in downtown Las Vegas, commemorating the debut of Nelson’s brand of cannabis products in the Las Vegas Valley.

“We’ve been working on this for over a year because they wanted a place where recreational marijuana was legal,” said CEO Paul Schloss of Redwood Marijuana, a central valley cultivation facility that will produce and market the “Willie’s Reserve” brand pre-wrapped marijuana joints and edibles, like cannabis-infused chocolates, to eight valley dispensaries. “This isn’t just a pot smoker here — this is a rockstar.”

The four-hour red carpet event at Exile Boutique, 1235 S. Main St., welcomed Nelson, 83, just after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night. Donning a cowboy hat and a black shirt, his signature braided hair hanging down to his stomach, the country music legend smiled and took pictures with eager fans, as others trying to make their way through the packed clothing store-turned party venue lauded him with phrases like “I love you Willie.” [Read more at Las Vegas Sun]