Police say Iowa City man tried to eat his marijuana

An Iowa City man is accused of eating his pot in an attempt to hide it from police.

But that's not the only place he tried to stash his stash, police said.

Iowa City police pulled over 19-year-old Quentrel J. Johnson at 5:05 p.m. Friday after he was seen driving without his headlights on. Police said the vehicle smelled strongly of marijuana, but Johnson denied having any drugs in the vehicle.

Police asked Johnson to step out of the vehicle and open his mouth. According to criminal complaints, Johnson's mouth was full of marijuana. His breath smelled strongly of raw marijuana, police said.

Johnson was transported to the police department for sobriety testing, which indicated he was under the influence of a controlled substance. Eventually, Johnson turned over a "sizeable amount" of marijuana that he had stowed in his crotch area, police said. Police also found more than $3,100 cash on Johnson, which he said his mother had recently sent him.

While searching Johnson's vehicle, police said they found a prescription bottle with liquid inside that was determined to be codeine. The name portion of the prescription had been torn off. Johnson admitted to buying the codeine, despite not having a prescription. He mixed the codeine with lemonade and Sprite, which was also found in the vehicle, police said.

Johnson was arrested and faces charges of possession of marijuana - second offense, operating under the influence, obstruction and prohibited acts with a prescription drug. Police said Johnson was previously convicted of possession of marijuana in June 2013.