Back in the day, the plant cannabis was referred to as “marihuana” to associate its use with Mexicans, who were (are?) often maligned as migrants, itinerants, etc. Those people could then be made the subject of racist laws and wind up arrested or deported.
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Back in the day, the plant cannabis was referred to as “marihuana” to associate its use with Mexicans, who were (are?) often maligned as migrants, itinerants, etc. Those people could then be made the subject of racist laws and wind up arrested or deported.
This article goes into a couple explanations and offers a different one that’s maybe less racist. https://www.sacurrent.com/cannabis/why-some-people-believe-marijuana-is-a-racist-word-and-why-it-doesnt-offend-me-31654627
Article title:
Getting the feeling we could be spending our time on much more important issues…
This will explain it
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/14/201981025/the-mysterious-history-of-marijuana