Image Source: IRELANDCANNABISINFORMATION
You’re probably curious as to what exactly “medical marijuana” is and what the difference is between the latter and what most people commonly refer to as “pot,” “Mary Jane” or “weed,” which are just a few of the creative names. In the medical marijuana business, we prefer to call it “cannabis.” So, what gives? Where did all these names come from?
Let’s start with “kannabis,” a Latin derivative for the word “hemp.” It is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a genus of annual herbs (family Moraceae) that have leaves with three to seven elongate leaflets and pistillate flowers in spikes along the leafy erect stems and that include the hemp (C. sativa).” Seems like a deep definition for what you thought “pot” was, huh?
Cannabis is believed to have originated in Asia, moving throughout Europe in the 1400s before being introduced into the Americas by Columbus later that century. Back then, no one had any idea that cannabis held any medicinal properties and it was strictly used to make fibers for the ropes and sails of Spanish fleets. In fact, Betsy Ross crafted our very first American flag out of hemp fiber!
Yes, hemp, which is not to be confused with cannabis sativa or indica, the two more commonly known as marijuana, but they are part of the same genus family. (We’ll cover that topic next week with “Hemp vs. Cannabis.”) All our Founding Fathers, including George Washington, grew cannabis.
However, attempts at growing cannabis by Spanish conquistadors in the tropics largely failed. Mexico, meanwhile, didn’t seem to have any issue with growth, and besides, plants were already their main source of medicine, so it was only natural that they investigate this new, extraordinary plant. Their curiosity paid off.
Mexicans found cannabis to be useful for a wide variety of ailments and began selling it openly, as pipiltzintzintlis, meaning “the most noble of princes,” until the 1700s, when rumors began to spread that the herb facilitated madness or visions and was banned from the marketplace.
Meanwhile, cultivation picked up far north, which would later become known as the United States. As cannabis’ medicinal properties became more mainstream in the 1800s and it was entered in the United States Pharmacopeia, doctors started prescribing it regularly. At least until they heard the term “marijuana.”
It’s still debatable exactly how this name came into the lexicon. Historians believe that it was to catholicize the plant. Consumers combined the word Maria with “huana,” more popularly known as the Spanish word for “property” or “stuff,” and “marijuana” was born. But the endless name calling didn’t stop there. Pop culture, music, drama-hungry newspaper reporters, immigrants and stories lost in translation all played a key role in making many of cannabis’ names widely popular and acceptable. In addition to those already mentioned there’s “hash,” “ganja,” “dope,” “reefer” and more. Do a Google search and hundreds of words appear.
Let’s start with “kannabis,” a Latin derivative for the word “hemp.” It is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a genus of annual herbs (family Moraceae) that have leaves with three to seven elongate leaflets and pistillate flowers in spikes along the leafy erect stems and that include the hemp (C. sativa).” Seems like a deep definition for what you thought “pot” was, huh?
Cannabis is believed to have originated in Asia, moving throughout Europe in the 1400s before being introduced into the Americas by Columbus later that century. Back then, no one had any idea that cannabis held any medicinal properties and it was strictly used to make fibers for the ropes and sails of Spanish fleets. In fact, Betsy Ross crafted our very first American flag out of hemp fiber!
Yes, hemp, which is not to be confused with cannabis sativa or indica, the two more commonly known as marijuana, but they are part of the same genus family. (We’ll cover that topic next week with “Hemp vs. Cannabis.”) All our Founding Fathers, including George Washington, grew cannabis.
However, attempts at growing cannabis by Spanish conquistadors in the tropics largely failed. Mexico, meanwhile, didn’t seem to have any issue with growth, and besides, plants were already their main source of medicine, so it was only natural that they investigate this new, extraordinary plant. Their curiosity paid off.
Mexicans found cannabis to be useful for a wide variety of ailments and began selling it openly, as pipiltzintzintlis, meaning “the most noble of princes,” until the 1700s, when rumors began to spread that the herb facilitated madness or visions and was banned from the marketplace.
Meanwhile, cultivation picked up far north, which would later become known as the United States. As cannabis’ medicinal properties became more mainstream in the 1800s and it was entered in the United States Pharmacopeia, doctors started prescribing it regularly. At least until they heard the term “marijuana.”
It’s still debatable exactly how this name came into the lexicon. Historians believe that it was to catholicize the plant. Consumers combined the word Maria with “huana,” more popularly known as the Spanish word for “property” or “stuff,” and “marijuana” was born. But the endless name calling didn’t stop there. Pop culture, music, drama-hungry newspaper reporters, immigrants and stories lost in translation all played a key role in making many of cannabis’ names widely popular and acceptable. In addition to those already mentioned there’s “hash,” “ganja,” “dope,” “reefer” and more. Do a Google search and hundreds of words appear.
Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by NEWSITEM
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