Why You Should Say Cannabis Instead of the ‘M’ Word
By Jesse Carpender 25 th March 2015
http://www.revolutionenterprises.co/marijuana-vs-cannabis/
Thanks to growing interest in legal cannabis
markets, many cannabis industry voices are
asking: “Can I use the word marijuana when
discussing legal cannabis?”
Cannabis is a more accurate, scientific and
morally responsible word choice. Here’s why.
Pros and cons
Linguistics bloggers agree that when it comes
to the psychology of word choice, you can
make a decision on using a questionable word
by taking into account two options. The first
option is to decide that the benefits of using
the word outweigh the costs. Let’s look at the
pros and cons of using the word “marijuana.”
Pros: Recognisable, cult following, more
searched-for than cannabis when it comes to
the internet (very important in this age of
search engine optimisation)
Cons: Associated with criminality, racist
origins, historically sordid political usage
Let’s dive into those cons a little bit.
The problem with the history of the word
“marijuana” begins with its etymology.
No one is really sure where the word came
from, though it’s considered to be Mexican-
Spanish in origin.
It may come from the Aztec word for
“prisoner” according to the Oxford English
Dictionary – that’s why it has been
historically used to villainise the cannabis
plant.
It only gets worse from there thanks to Harry
Anslinger, the first director of the Federal
Bureau of Narcotics. In the 1930s, Anslinger
had only negative things to say about
cannabis. He told congress, “Marijuana is the
most violence-causing drug in the history of
mankind… Most marijuana smokers are
Negroes,
Hispanics,
Filipinos
and
entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and
swing, result from marijuana usage.”
Anslinger’s collection of racist, fear-driven
propaganda (including the memorable film
Reefer Madness) shaped the public’s
understanding of the cannabis plant as a bad
habit of society’s worst degenerates.
Weighing these pros and cons, damaging the
cannabis industry’s credibility through usage
of the word marijuana seems to outweigh the
benefit of reaching a larger population who
may have no use or interest in legal medicinal
or recreational cannabis.
In short, the term marijuana does more harm
than good.
The second option when it comes to word
choice is simply to find a better word.
What makes cannabis a better word?
To begin with, cannabis has a linguistically
traceable origin, coming from Latin roots that
mean “common hemp.”
In fact, the word is even older than that, going
back to Greece’s kánnabis.
Greek historian Herodotus (c. 440 BCE)
wrote about cannabis: “The Scythians, as I
said, take some of this hemp-seed
[presumably, flowers], and, creeping under
the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot
stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out
such a vapour as no Grecian vapour-bath can
exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy.”