Cannabis? Weed? Marijuana? Why What We Call It Matters

Cannabis has more names than any other illegal substance, recreational drug, or medicinal plant. Maybe more than all of them together. Some are botanical (“Cannabis sativa”), some are full of history and discrimination (“Marihuana”), and others are just giggling (“the devil’s salad”). Most are recognizable and get the point across – which isn’t surprising given that an estimated 20 percent of Americans use it at least once a year, according to the CDC, and 36 states now have at least one medical cannabis program.

So does it really matter what we call it? The answer is a resounding “maybe”. Let’s start at the beginning.

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The etymology of the word cannabis

According to historical estimates, cannabis cultivation began around the same time agriculture developed itself – around 9,000 BC. At this point, the language itself was new and constantly evolving – so it can be difficult to understand where the word cannabis came from.

The first mention of cannabis seems to come from ancient Chinese history when the Chinese Emperor Shen Neng in 2737 BC. Chr. Cannabis tea for the “treatment of gout, rheumatism, malaria and poor memory” recommended.

The ancient Egyptians also had a word for cannabis: Shemshemet, the first references being around 2350 BC. Emergence.

In fact, most ancient cultures from the Sumerians to the Persians to the Hebrews had a word for cannabis. Some historians believe cannabis may be a hidden ingredient in the sacred anointing oil used by Hebrew priests – known as Kaneh Bosem.

The etymology of the term itself can easily be traced back to the kánnabis of ancient Greece. It is from there that the Scythians adopted the terminology related to cannabis; the Scythians differentiated between industrial hemp, Sanskrit śaṇa and narcotic hemp [ie, cannabis], Sanskrit Banga.

Other ancient cultures have also given way to the differences between cannabis and hemp – a topic that we will discuss to this day. Typically, the prefixes Ken or Kan implied fibrous plants, while Kana or Bhang implied high-THC cannabis. Our current English word for hemp probably has the same kan-type source, apparently from the Persian term kanap.1

When did “marijuana” hit the market?

Fast forward to the modern age, and cannabis became widely used as a medical treatment around the world, including the United States. In 1850 it was included in the US Pharmacopoeia, the official volume listing drugs, their effects, and directions for use.

But something changed in the early 1930s. A nationwide campaign to defame and delegitimize cannabis has been launched by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the FBN (one of the forerunners of the DEA) and, in particular, its Commissioner Harry Anslinger.

Cannabis was renamed “marijuana,” the term used by the growing Hispanic population who immigrated from Mexico. According to British author Martin Booth in his book Cannabis: A History, the change in terminology was designed by Anslinger as part of his campaign against cannabis – most likely to play with xenophobia that was rampant in America at the time.

Anslinger once commented, “There are 100,000 marijuana smokers in the United States, and most of them are negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing result from the consumption of marijuana. This marijuana leads white women to seek sexual relationships with negroes, entertainers, and others. ”2

Ultimately, the campaign was successful; In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which bans recreational use and imposes taxes on medical cannabis manufacturers, prescribing doctors, and pharmacists. The end result was that it was just too complicated and expensive to treat patients with cannabis. A few years later, in 1941, cannabis was finally removed from the US Pharmacopoeia – and the term “marijuana” stuck. How the word “cannabis” can help normalize.

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Why it matters

We have come a long way in the past few years, but there is still a lot to be done when it comes to normalizing cannabis use across the board. There is an argument that the use of slang words like “weed”, “pot” and “ganja” can create a lingering stigma that reminds people of the “lazy stoner” propaganda they grew up with rather than what we know to be true about cannabis today – that it is a safe substance that can be used for a wide variety of uses.

In a recent LinkedIn survey, I asked followers to indicate which term they preferred. Given that the majority of respondents work in the cannabis industry, the fact that they overwhelmingly voted for the term (77%) shouldn’t come as a surprise – but some of the comments they left help solve the problem to clarify.

“Cannabis is obviously the industry standard, but SEO is telling us that marijuana and weed are dwarfing it in terms of search results,” commented cannabis PR expert Brett Puffenbarger. “I like to get creative with my copy and use cannabis most of the time and spice it up with other popular nomenclatures for impact and SEO.”

While this author tends to agree with Puffenbarger’s approach, many have felt that the use of the word “cannabis” is an important step in overcoming the decades-old stigma against the plant. For example, cannabis marketer Steven Arthur George believes that “it is our duty to call it cannabis by its real name! This will help to educate and de-stigmatize this plant. ”

Other respondents spoke of the need for better nomenclature to distinguish between different types of cannabis. “I use the word marijuana to distinguish it from industrial hemp, as both are cannabis sativa,” said Julie Stumph, production manager at hemp producer PureHemp Technology. Indeed, the options are limited. At The Cannigma, we’ve used both “marijuana” and “non-hemp strains” to refer to chemotherapy drugs that contain more than just trace amounts of THC – but in general we’d prefer Type I, Type II, and Type III to refer to THC-dominant, balanced THC: CBD or CBD-dominant.

Would a cannabis flower with any other name smell just as sweet?

For this author, it’s all about context – and the majority of LinkedIn survey commentators agreed. If you smoke a joint with your friends, it probably doesn’t matter what you call it. You’re preaching to the choir anyway. But if you’re giving lectures on the subject, introducing cannabis-naive family members to the benefits of the plant, or doing some other advocacy role, cannabis is the way to go.

Thomas Wrona and Matan Weil contributed to this report

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/10/01/cannabis-weed-marijuana-why-what-we-call-it-matters/