One of the coolest things about the cannabis community is that we don’t hold back when it comes to thinking of creative nicknames for our favorite strains. It’s as much a part of the culture as listening to Bob Marley and smoking on the 20th day of April. But while cannabis strains have a variety of unique names, well, so does cannabis itself. We call it weed, grass, pot, ganja, and the list goes on. But, the name that is arguably most prevalent and embedded in American culture is, of course, “marijuana.”
Though “cannabis” is the scientific name for the plant, politicians, doctors, and newscasters often use “marijuana” instead. Hell, “marijuana” and “cannabis” are used so interchangeably that you could say both words in the same sentence and no one would blink an eye. But, if we rewind the clock back a bit, to the time when the U.S. economy was suffering and an influx of foreigners from Mexico were blamed, we will see that the word “marijuana” was used in place of “cannabis” to evoke fear and hatred in the eyes of Americans. This era was the start of “reefer madness,” an anti-cannabis movement executed so well that we are still struggling with its effect today. Check out the video above as we explore the history of the term, “marijuana.”
