Marijuana In Kennedy's Hyannis Port Garden: Jackie O's Secret

Original story by Natalia Kesselman on El Planteo.

According to a newly published book, the U.S. Secret Service received orders from Jackie Kennedy to secretly destroy cannabis plants found in her garden at the Kennedy summer retreat in Hyannis Port, MA., according to “White House by the Sea” by Kate Storey.

Before the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, he and his family would spend summers in this idyllic location on Cape Cod. Author Storey says Jackie spent considerable time there, even after the death of her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, sunbathing naked and painting on the glazed solarium. 

The former first lady would also often invite friends and family to spend weekends at her home, making it a hive of liveliness, but, also, with place for calm.

One afternoon, her assistant Kathy McKeon saw a couple of teenage Kennedy cousins rummaging through Jackie's garden. At first, it didn't seem strange until she saw them doing the same thing the next day. 

When she decided to see what was going on in the garden, she weeds she'd never noticed before in the well-kept flower bed. Alarmed, she went looking for Jack Dempsey, the retired police chief who used to hang out in the Secret Service trailer. When she took him to the scene, he confirmed her suspicions: "It's marijuana," he announced. "Do you know how it got there?"

To Dempsey's disbelief, McKeon fervently denied that gardeners had planted it. Determined to inform Jackie, they headed towards the house, but McKeon took a shortcut to get there before Dempsey. 

Breathless, she said, "Ma'am, we just found marijuana growing on the flower bed!" Stunned Jackie couldn't believe it. "Are you kidding?" she asked. "My God, this can't come to light. How are we going to fix this?" 

As he walked into the kitchen, Dempsey suggested ignoring the issue completely and promised to dig the plants up. "Good," Jackie said, relieved. "I don't want this to be known."

That same afternoon, Dempsey and the Secret Service men dug up the weed plants. 

Although Caroline and John, the cousins who originally spotted the grass, were too young to be involved, they decided not to say anything to their mothers. 

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Photo created with Midjourney.