Courtesy of The Root
Cannabis is known by many names: weed, reefer, pot … the list goes on. But one of its most common monikers, “marijuana,” has its roots in Mexico. But why?
An article at the NPR blog Code Switch discusses the racially charged history of the word “marijuana” and how the drug stirred anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. and then became criminalized.
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.
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