Why, then, does every newspaper refer to cannabis as 'marijuana'?
It seems obvious to most. Marijuana certainly sounds more official than "weed" or "chronic", after all. But it really isn't. "Marijuana" is a Mexican slang word adopted by the US government in the 1930s to demonize cannabis by associating it with Mexicans. Thus, it's also racist. Really, the use of this dated term should end, and the proper word, cannabis, should be used.
Picture found on my hard drive.
There are several reasons Devon.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all: marijuana was adopted into the dictionary by racists.
Second: there are tons of differences within the Cannabis plant family, and marijuana is an easy way to refer to the drug-type (just like hemp is the industrial-type).
Third: just because you find it offensive, doesn't mean people won't stop using it. Nigger is pretty racist, but Oxford still has it in the dictionary.
It's an uphill battle, my friend; first we should make the plant legal before we start worrying about what to call it.
But I can't make a blog post about legalization, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteBut you could add the link to where your image is from, which would probably be a good idea for your e-portfolio projects.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting blog post for your e-portfolio. I didn't realise the racist and slang connotation of the use of the word marijuana versus the word cannabis. It makes you wonder what other words are commonly used that have underlying racist backgrounds. PS, I don't really think that the n-word should be written so blatantly in a blog comment, no matter what the reasoning behind it!
ReplyDeleteI don't comprehend why it would be so blatant; either it's written or it's not. I used it as an example to show how racist words are accepted into society, even though they shouldn't be. I don't think the word marijuana should be written in blog posts, but we all can't have our cake and eat it too.
ReplyDelete