The Center Square writes that the Washington State Cannabis Control Commission on Wednesday approved a move to execute legislation passed in March that changes the word “marijuana” in state law to “cannabis.” Gov. Jay Inslee (D) stated during the law signing ceremony that “marijuana” had “a racist history in the United States.”
In the early 20th century, the phrase was frequently used in anti-immigrant discourse.
State lawmakers approved the measure, finding that “use of the term’marijuana’ in the United States has discriminatory origins and should be replaced with the more scientifically accurate term ‘cannabis,'” according to Jeff Kildahl, the state Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) cannabis policy and rules coordinator.
The Cannabis Tax Act of 1937, which forbade the possession and sale of the plant, was the first federal law to outlaw cannabis in the United States. Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, later known as the Drug Enforcement Administration, allegedly supported the bill because cannabis was frequently used by minorities.
Anslinger is believed to have said that there are 100,000 marijuana users in the United States, with the majority being African Americans, Hispanics, Filipinos, and artists. “Cannabis use causes their jazz, swing, and Satanic music. White ladies who use this marijuana get attracted to black people, entertainers, and other people for sex.
