Richard Nixon Smuggled Marijuana Past Customs

In 1958, Richard Nixon was the vice president when he unknowingly smuggled drugs past customs at New York’s Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport). Nixon was at the airport when he met jazz musician and US State Department ambassador Louis Armstrong, who was standing in the line awaiting customs. Armstrong had just returned from an international tour, and inside his suitcase were 1.4 kilograms (3 lb) of marijuana.

Nixon walked up to Armstrong and asked him what he was doing in the line. Armstrong said he had just returned from an international tour and was waiting to be checked in by customs. Nixon carried his suitcase and told him, “Ambassadors don’t have to go through customs, and the Vice President of the United States will gladly carry your bags for you,” before both men walked past customs. When Nixon learned the truth several years later, he exclaimed, “Louie smokes marijuana?”