Looking at Word Choice in the Marijuana Debate: A bud by any other name

from the Detroit Metro Times:



Looking at Word Choice in the Marijuana Debate
A bud by any other name.

By Larry Gabriel
Published: November 5, 2013




Language and the creative use of words have always fascinated me. That’s why I find the use of language employed in the War on Drugs so amusing.

Among pro-marijuana activists, there are some who always refer to pot as “cannabis.” Cannabis is its scientifically correct name and the name predominantly used for medical preparations before its prohibition. Another popular name was Indian hemp. Referring to the plant as marijuana was part of the public relations campaign to vilify it. Mexicans referred to it as marijuana and the prohibitionists chose to use that name in the effort to tie it negatively to ethnic minorities.

“The word marijuana wasn’t widely known until it was introduced by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics,” says Martin A. Lee, author of Smoke Signals, a social history of marijuana, and director of the CBD Project. “It was known as cannabis. It was a calculated choice to use the term marijuana for a xenophobic campaign typified by Reefer Madness.”

And there is a certain calculus not to use the word, “marijuana,” among some activists because it evokes an engrained negative emotional response. It’s rebranding in the deepest sense of modern marketing. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://metrotimes.com/news/higher-ground/looking-at-word-choice-in-the-marijuana-debate-1.1580602