Nationally famous for the White House Rose Garden, it also seems the Kennedy had another, special garden!
The Kennedys are a storied political family which fascinates some. His time in office was dubbed Camelot, evoking utopian ideals and high hopes. King Arthur and his knights are supposed to be pure-hearted, chivalrous, and endlessly courageous. In the same way, the Kennedy administration is sometimes remembered as a period of optimism, expanding opportunities, and humanitarian goals. JFK’s spouse, Jackie, was seen as a symbol of beauty, grace and good taste. One of her legacies was the White House Rose Garden. But it seems another legacy may be the Kennedys are the most famous weed gardeners.
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JFK was seen as a young, viral president, but in reality, he was in chronic pain from his WWII injuries. He then met Max Jacobson, later dubbed as “Dr. Feelgood.” From there his journey to treating his back injuries and managing the difficulty in moving would be helped at times from marijuana, then illegal. The war on drugs was in the future, but finding good cannabis was still a challenge.
Kathy McKeon, the former first lady’s assistant from 1964 to 1977, wrote a book and included an snippet about the secret garden in in the Kennedy’s compound during his presidency. The books is coming-of-age memoir by a young woman who spent thirteen years as Jackie Kennedy’s personal assistant and occasional nanny—and the lessons about life and love she learned from the glamorous first lady. She was a fan of the Kennedys and they helped shape her life.
While at the compound, she was curious about a certain discreet flower patch. She went to investigate and “That’s when it hit me”. She went to find Jack Dempsey, the retired Cape Cod police chief who often hung out at the Secret Service trailer. McKeon goes to tell Dempsey what he suspected. The two of them trekked back to the secret garden and that is when the former police chief confirmed the hunch, marijuana.
McKeon shared with Jackie Kennedy. A surprised Jackie allowed the Secret Service agents pull out the plants from the secret garden.
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Cannabis has been used for an over a millenia to treat all sorts of medical issues. JFK was lucky, in some ways, to options for treatment must citizens could only access in the last 10 years.
