b.Blunt – What is the purpose of banning the word ‘marijuana’? Health officials in Canada don’t seem to like the term, being that they feel the word will, according to one Narcity report, tarnish the talks of making the drug legal. Most people look at weed as being weed, no matter what name it is called, and there are several names for it as you know. But, if you take a look at the history of word ‘marijuana’, you may understand why they may not want to label it like that anymore.
In the early days, the healing plant was originally called cannabis, and people in those days used to use it for what is supposed to be used for, medicine. But, just like today, back then there were folks in society (called cannabis prohibitionists) who were against the natural drug. Nobody really knows where the word marijuana came from, but that it was Mexican slang, and was originally spelled ‘marihuana’. Then, in 1905, The Washington Post ran an article with the headline ‘Terrors of Marihuana!” and publicly made the drug into a negative thing.
Many Canadian citizens are looking forward to marijuana being legal there, and it shows in the events that are held each year in the country. For example, each May the Global Marijuana March is held. This past year was the 19th Annual celebration, and it took place in Toronto. Over 20,000 supporters of recreational/medical cannabis show up every year from dozens of places across the world. According to the Toronto Global Marijuana March Official Website, since 1999 people from over 700 cities in 60+ different nations have signed up for the anticipated event.
Many of the attendees ask the same question: Why was cannabis banned from Canada in the first place? This is because back in 1923 Parliament made marijuana a prescription drug, but then Canada was quick to make it illegal. Canada had outlawed marijuana 14 years before the United States. And, according to CBC News, the reason why is a mystery, with the 2014 report reading that “if there was any kind of Parliamentary debate, historians have been unable to find a record of it.” Now, almost 100 years later, Canada may be ready to accept the drug as a healing medicine, if they can get past the debate of what name they want to call it.
Limus Woods is a member of the International Association of Professional Writers and Editors(IAPWE). He can be reached on LinkedIn.
