For as long as marijuana has been restricted, people have gone to astonishing lengths to hide it. Some of these concealment efforts are clever, others downright bizarre—and nearly all make for memorable stories when they’re discovered. From kitchen pantries to funeral homes, here’s a roundup of some of the strangest places cannabis has ever been stashed.
Groceries with a Secret
Border patrol agents have seen it all when it comes to food-based smuggling attempts. Bundles of marijuana have been disguised as cabbages, tucked inside piñatas, and stuffed into hollowed-out pineapples. One memorable seizure involved bags of cannabis hidden inside tamales—painstakingly wrapped to look like the real thing. While food disguises may seem practical, they rarely hold up under canine inspection.
Household Items Turned Stash Spots
The ordinary contents of a home often become hiding places. Law enforcement has uncovered marijuana sealed inside vacuum cleaners, carefully packed into detergent boxes, and even stuffed into the hollow legs of furniture. A particularly odd case involved someone hiding pounds of cannabis inside a washing machine, only to be caught when the smell seeped out during transport.
Strange Spots in Vehicles
Vehicles have long been a favorite for concealing marijuana, but some of the methods stand out. In one traffic stop, police discovered weed hidden inside a fake gas tank that had been welded to the undercarriage of a car. Others have tucked it into spare tires, behind dashboards, or in elaborate hidden compartments. Perhaps the strangest? A stash discovered in a car battery casing—complete with wiring that still allowed the battery to function.
Personal Concealment Gone Wrong
While stashing weed on the body isn’t unusual, some attempts go far beyond the typical shoe or pocket. Authorities have reported marijuana hidden in dreadlocks, sewn into waistbands, and even layered into adult diapers. In one instance, airport officers noticed a traveler with an oddly bulky cast on their arm—inside was a carefully wrapped bundle of cannabis. Needless to say, it didn’t get past security.
Oddball Public Settings
Some hiding spots aren’t just unusual—they’re audacious. Stories include marijuana hidden inside vending machines, disguised as candy bars, or tucked into library drop boxes among returned books. There have even been cases of cannabis hidden in church donation boxes, a tactic that shocked both authorities and congregations. These types of stashes often draw headlines for their sheer boldness.
Coffins, Pets, and Beyond
Perhaps the strangest discoveries come from attempts to use living beings or funeral objects as covers. Customs agents once found marijuana sewn into pet vests, while another group uncovered a shipment of coffins carrying cannabis instead of bodies. These cases tend to grab attention not only for their weirdness, but also for the ethical lines they cross.
Why These Stories Stick
What makes these hiding places fascinating is the mix of desperation, creativity, and audacity. While cannabis is becoming increasingly legal across the U.S. and worldwide, many of these smuggling stories reflect a not-so-distant past where marijuana possession could result in severe consequences. The risks drove people to think outside the box—sometimes way outside.
As cannabis reform spreads, the need to hide marijuana in pineapples, washing machines, or coffins will hopefully become part of history. But the bizarre legacy of these smuggling attempts ensures that the tales will live on as a reminder of just how far people once went to outsmart the law.