Throughout the 19th century, news reports and medical journal articles almost always use the plant’s formal name, cannabis. Numerous accounts say that “marijuana” came into popular usage in the U.S. in the early 20th century because anti-cannabis factions wanted to underscore the drug’s “Mexican-ness.” It was meant to play off of anti-immigrant sentiments.
I feel like it’s more racist to start calling it cannabis once it’s legal.
Can you explain your logic?
We called it marijuana before it was legal. Marijuana is a term that’s obviously linked to Latin communities. So while it’s illegal, we’re OK with calling it something that’s linked to a community, BUT once it’s legal, suddenly we’re trying to erase that connection. Like it’s too good for that community anymore. It would be less racist to continue calling it marijuana WHILE recognizing the historical racism and celebrating the culture that ensured the plant was still here when it was legalized. Ignoring that contribution is like appropriation. Erasing the Latin influences in marijuana culture once the plant is legal isn’t anti racist.
I like this take but it relies on a critical analysis that isn’t going to occur to most people. Most people aren’t even aware up the word’s racist origins.
I think calling it cannabis helps distance it from it’s illegal past. There’s a lot of more conservative people out there that still think of “marijuana” as something dangerous and criminal that is used by disreputable people. I think calling it “canabis” will help shed that negative connotation.
For the record, I call it “weed.”
I don’t think it’s more racist, but I definitely don’t like the idea that it was called marijuana to create a negative connotation with Latin Americans, but now that public opinion is coming around on it, people no longer want to associate it with the Latin American name.