Why the Word 'Marijuana' is Not a Racist Term
- Heather Stanley
- 41 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Here is a little, quickly thrown together, lesson around the term marijuana and why it is in fact not a racist term by origin and only because some dude in US history had it out for Mexicans and Africans and the cannabis plant (as well as jazz and well there's a lot more here honestly) and thought he could pull one over on us all by taking a word already being used, twist it and encourage not only his agenda against cannabis (marijuana and hemp are both cannabis) but also his agenda of systemic racism.
Somehow his rhetoric has continued to survive.
Let's take back the word.
What I am sharing here, is barely scratching the surface of what is out there to disprove marijuana as a racist term.
Stop allowing Anslinger's racist legacy to live on. He literally took the word marijuana, that had similar words already being used by Mexicans and others and perverted it to meet his own agenda.
He is dead, let his legacy die with him.
I also included a little information about botanical classifications, aside from etymology of the word marijuana and also "The Great Cannabis Scare" that was manipulated by Anslinger.
Honestly, I could write an entire short book on the fact that marijuana is not a term truly invented by Anslinger but in fact a term perverted by him because he saw the potential to use indigenous language against indigenous people.
As has been done historically.
In fact, others have already written books on the subject of why marijuana is not a racist term, which are used as some citations in some of the links I have included in this post.
There is obviously a lot to unpack here so I will just mention scientific classification is an important tool in understanding cannabis as a plant.
I am not a botanist or scientist (tbh I dropped out of high school junior year) but since I have had free access to internet, I have always been a self-educator and a passionate learner, especially around cannabis. It has been my "autistic special interest" since I was about 12.
Botanically marijuana falls under the "umbrella term" cannabis which is the genus. The terms sativa, indica, ruderalis are the cannabis species and then further classification would be subspecies which is marijuana and hemp.
Here is the scientific classification break down.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Cannabaceae
Genus: Cannabis L.
Species: (these reference origin and structure mostly, to simplify)
Cannabis sativa L. (equatorial origins, tall, narrow structures)
Cannabis indica Lam. (cooler, higher rain fall origins, generally shorter and more broad structures.)
Cannabis ruderalis Janisch (even colder and less sun/shorter grow season origins, not light dependent on flowering, very short stature, flowers within short time frames, usually within 30 days.)
Subspecies: (these reference chemical compositions, after origin and structure, to simplify)
Marijuana- cannabis plant that has THC dominance largely due to breeding, historically used for spiritual recreational and medicinal practices. Not to say it was not used for fiber etc. also.
Hemp - cannabis plant that has low THC and generally is CBD dominant, historically used for fiber etc. Not to say it could not or was not used for spiritual or medicinal purpose also.
Let me apologize in advance for how lacking this truly still is in evidence and commentary but today I couldn't invest any more time into it.
The Etymology of “Marijuana”: A Historical Journey Through Words
Differentiating Cannabis Products: Drugs, Food, and Supplements - PMC
… “ “Hemp” refers to non-intoxicating, low delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) cultivars of Cannabis sativa L. “Marijuana” refers to cultivars with high levels of Δ9-THC, the primary psychoactive cannabinoid found in the plant and a federally controlled substance used for both recreational and therapeutic purposes. Although marijuana and hemp belong to the same genus and species, they differ in terms of chemical and genetic composition, production practices, product uses, and regulatory status. ”…
What Is the Difference Between Hemp and Marijuana? | Britannica
(PDF) The Great Cannabis Scare - Harry J. Anslinger in the 1930s - Marvin Däumichen
The Mysterious History Of 'Marijuana' : Code Switch : NPR
Cannabis? Weed? Marijuana? Why what we call it matters | The Cannigma
….“Cannabis was renamed “marijuana,” the term used by the growing Hispanic population migrating from Mexico. According to the British author Martin Booth in his book Cannabis: A History, the change in terminology was designed by Anslinger as a part of his campaign against cannabis – most likely to play on rampant xenophobia in America at the time.”….
Marijuana (word) - Wikipedia
….“Other suggestions trace the possible origins of the word to Chinese ma ren hua (麻仁花, lit. 'hemp seed flower'), possibly itself originating as a loan from an earlier semitic root *mrj "hemp".[17] The Semitic root is also found in the Spanish word mejorana and in English marjoram, which could be related to the word marihuana. This is also known in Mexico as "Chinese oregano".[16]
Additionally, traditional association with the personal name María Juana ('Mary Jane') is probably a folk etymology. The original Mexican Spanish used forms with the letter ⟨h⟩ (marihuana), and is famously used in the Mexican Revolutionary era (1910–1920) version of the lyrics of La Cucaracha. Forms using the letter ⟨j⟩ (marijuana) seem to be an innovation of English, and their later appearance in French and Spanish are probably due to English influence.[12][18]
Chris S. Duvall, an associate professor of geography at the University of New Mexico, provided a different theory of the word's etymology in 2015 on the website The Conversation:
The origin of the word "marijuana" foreshadowed its current use. Historically, the earliest and most numerous group of users in the Americas were slaves from western Central Africa (modern Gabon to Angola).[19] Their words for cannabis are now used in nearly all the places they (involuntarily) ended up during the 1700s and 1800s, which includes West Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Most notably, in Central America, the Kimbundu (Angolan) word mariamba became the Spanish word marihuana.[20]
The word "marijuana" as we know it today did not appear until 1846 in Farmacopea Mexicana, though it was spelled "mariguana". In most following instances, the word was spelled marihuana.[21][22] In Chilean Spanish, mariguanza is the dance of a shaman in an altered state of consciousness.[23]”…..
Cannabis - Wikipedia
Marijuana - Plant, Use & Effects | HISTORY
Cannabis Unveiled: An Exploration of Marijuana’s History, Active Compounds, Effects, Benefits, and Risks on Human Health - PMC
By Heather Marie Stanley