The Origin of Marijuana: That Evil Weed

The onset of the 20th century changed the history of cannabis, a plant that had been mandatory to grow throughout the United States, into the stigmatized evil weed we now refer to as marijuana. During this time many western states started to develop tensions with Mexican immigrants who regularly smoked marijuana. This tension escalated as small farmers started to stigmatize large farmers use of cheap Mexican labor. The uneasiness continued until the onset of the Great Depression which eliminated jobs and resources found in the prosperous 1920’s.  

With tensions at an all time high--many white Americans started to focus on the differences between them and Mexican immigrants.  According to Jack Herer, activist and author of “The Emperor Wears Clothes” politicians trying to please the white working class, blamed Mexican immigrants for a violent crime wave. Their habit of smoking marijuana, received the blame for a phony outbreak of crime and health problems. Before this time period the term “marijuana” wasn’t used as a term to refer to cannabis or hemp it originated, as a Mexican slang term, which politicians used to confuse and mislead the public. The terms popularity escalated during a series of media and governmental programs known today as the‘Refer Madness  Movement'.

Figure 3:

Advertisement for the 1930's film 
Marihuana. 

Source:

"Dog Eat Dogma"; (2011):Web. 

Through repetition of this slang phrase linked to lazy, violence causing Mexicans--the words “hemp” and the scientific term “cannabis” were largely ignored. This lead people to believe that marijuana and cannabis, or hemp which had been used to make cloth, rope, and even medicine over the past three hundred years were completely different substances.The popular name for cannabis today is still derived from this slang term acquired through fear and racism. With the majority of racist slang terms from the 1930’s viewed as socially inappropriate today--why is the slang term “marijuana” still used instead of cannabis or hemp?

The term seems to solidify the acceptable of falsely spread cannabis propaganda that still remains the primary message set forth by the United State’s Federal Government. Negative stereotypes associated with cannabis use weren’t solely found in Western states, problems in Eastern states linked cannabis use with black jazz musicians.  Again, racism was used to discriminate against the use of marijuana. Marijuana traveled with the popularity of jazz music from New Orleans, to Chicago and then to Harlem, becoming a major part of the music scene. 

Figure 4: 

Advertisement Circulated by the Federal Bureau

of Narcotics in 1935. 

Source:
Killer Drug by Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

Advertisement. 1935. Web

The mass media used fear and racism to push cannabis out of mainstream society, as one newspaper in 1934 captured: 

“Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white women twice.” With the spread of false marijuana propaganda plaguing the early 20th century marijuana prohibition became the solution to stop minority group’s cultural habits from spreading into mainstream society. Ultimately marijuana became the scapegoat for all poorly perceived subculture habits which led to its eventual and  continued eradication.