Is “Marijuana” Racist?

Weed, bud, pot, herb, reefer, piff, chronic, mary jane…

Call it what you want but don’t keep calling it “marijuana” because this term holds a historically racial and xenophobic connotation. The word “marijuana” (also spelt as “marihuana”) was widely replaced in the American lexicon as “cannabis” in the early 1900’s. With a Mexican-Spanish origin, this word began to fulfil a racially-charged movement against cannabis by attributing the use, possession and consumption of the drug to the Mexican immigrants that arrived in the US (along with other visibly ethnic minorities). This instigated a war on drugs and then soon became a prohibitionist’s tool of propaganda in that time. In order to fully fathom the racial repercussions of the use of “marijuana”, we need to take a look at the legal history of cannabis in North America first. 

Harry Anslinger’s wrath on cannabis

There was a crusade against cannabis led by a man famously hated by stoners even today - Harry Anslinger. Anslinger was the first Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and spearheaded the Marihuana Tax Act which passed in 1937. This act imposed taxes on every sale of cannabis and hemp products. Not the worst thing, right? Keep reading. Anslinger believed that cannabis made minorities “crazy and violent” and that “smoking it made white women sexually attracted to dark-skinned men and jazz musicians”. Under this act, it became federally illegal to possess or transfer cannabis. With President Rosevelt by his side and the propaganda film Reefer Madness gaining increasing traction, Anslinger was making strides in building a negative narrative around cannabis, the industry and most importantly, the users. By traveling across the country with his erroneous agenda, Anslinger instilled the idea that racial minorities, such as Mexicans, African-Americans and Caribbean-Americans were the crux of society’s downfall due to their drug consumption. A year after the tax act has passed, Black people were 3x more likely to get arrested for violating narcotic drug laws than Caucasians - Mexicans were 9x more likely. It gets worse…

 The fear-mongering tactics worked

And by 1952, Bogg's Act had passed making the sentencing for all drug convictions mandatory. All first-offense cannabis possession charges carried a minimum sentence of 2-10 years with a fine of up to $20,000. Even for today, these charges are preposterous for what is merely a plant we are all so very grateful for. It is through this racially motivated movement that Americans began to fear and grow ignorant of cannabis and thus, the War on Drugs officially continued...

Fast forward to the groovy times of cannabis culture in the 1960-70’s

Where cannabis was not only celebrated but became normalized across the board for those of the counterculture. Many people were smoking pot and it was indeed “copasetic” during this time. As cannabis use became more widespread in North America, the drug soon became a hit amongst the Caucasian upper-middle class. Stigmas, as always, continued but the dominant Hippie-culture aimed to reinvent the cannabis narrative for what it was and refused to adhere to the concept that this drug was as harmful as the establishment claimed. This erupted a movement in favor of cannabis, peace and love. This era in cannabis culture paved the way in creating legitimacy to the mainstream medicinal plant we have today. It wasn’t before too long that cannabis encountered friction, yet again.

The good times clearly didn’t last forever

As the Controlled Substances Act had passed in 1970 by President Nixon. Our favourite drug was on the chopping block yet again. This federal law stated that cannabis was now a Schedule I drug - suggesting zero medicinal use and benefits with a high potential for abuse.  As the paradigm shifted back into the hands of a political agenda, the term “marijuana” continued on with its disproportionately xenophobic implication. Racist assumptions persisted with regards to the use and possession of cannabis as the majority of arrests were minorities. Despite the mainstream usage of cannabis from the previous decade, it was clear that centuries of racism could not be undone in just 10 years.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get worse - the War on Drugs surfaces

In 1986, the Anti Drug Abuse Act was signed by President Regan, instituting mandatory sentences for drug-related crimes such as the use and possession of cannabis. President Bush declared a War on Drugs in his first nationally televised speech a year later. The instinct to punish drug users in America became a bipartisan effort that alienated minorities from impoverished communities. More than half of the arrests were for possession of cannabis by a visibly ethnic minority. Prisons began to fill up faster than America has ever seen, thus perpetuating the racist ideals that condemn the term “marijuana” and the groups of people who used it.

So what should you say instead? Use “cannabis”!

While we casually use “marijuana” without ill intent, it is imperative that we remember the etymology of this term and the targeted demographic who have been profiled against for centuries. While “marijuana” is still very much so normalized in the world today, it is our responsibility to be mindful of the groups of people who have suffered because of the war on drugs and sadly, their racial association with it. Even though “marijuana” has ethnic roots linked to Mexican-Spanish culture, because of the way the term was used to demonize minorities and the plant itself, there has been a push to leave behind the racially-rooted term and return to its scientific and historical name, cannabis. Thanks to the increasing awareness of the injustice of cannabis prohibition federal legalization in Canada and the adoption of cannabis culture, we are happy to leave the xenophobia behind, use the correct terminology and celebrate cannabis as we should!