Don’t Call it Marijuana

For years the term “marijuana” has been used to describe cannabis. In fact, most people still use it to this day when talking about the plant. But it is time we start dissolving “marijuana” from our vocabulary and start replacing it with terms like “cannabis”, “weed”,  or “ganja” & here’s why.

Back in the prohibition era the word “marijuana” was associated as a xenophobic term and was used as racist slang. It was coined as such so that people would associate that term as something dangerous, harmful and addictive so that they would want to stay away from it. The word comes from Mexican-Spanish roots and was brought over to the US in the 1920s-1930s. At the time, there was a big stigma against Hispanic people entering the country so when politicians started to make laws against cannabis they used the term marijuana to make it seem like a bad thing.

Politicians also associated cannabis as something that was used as a brainwashing tool. White Americans stigmatized cannabis as it was popular with Hispanic, Black, and Hindu communities. Harry Anslinger, one of the primary individuals responsible for the stigma on Cannabis, associated “marijuana” with satanic rituals and demonic possessions and is one of they key reason why the term “marijuana” was so well known across the United States instead of proper terms such as cannabis or even weed. 

So although “marijuana” is commonly used throughout the United States, the history of the word has undeniably deep racist and political roots tied to it. Keep these things in mind next time you go spark up & remember, we’re always trying to change for the better.