Etymology
Although the spelling "marijuana" is more common in current usage, the correct spelling in the Marihuana Tax Act is "marihuana". "Marihuana" was the spelling most commonly used in Federal Government documents at the time.
In addition, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 legitimized the use of the term "marijuana" as a label for hemp and cannabis plants and products in the US and around the world. Prior to 1937, "marijuana" was slang; it was not included in any official dictionaries. The word marijuana is probably of Mexican origin. Mexico itself had passed prohibition for export to the U.S in 1925, following the International Opium Convention. In the years leading up to the tax act, it was actually in common use in the United States, "smoked like tobacco", and called "ganjah", or "ganja". Considerable issues existed involving illegal immigration of Mexicans into the United States, and the one thing Mexicans were identified as being in possession of was cannabis, aka marijuana. The southern border states called for action. After the enactment, illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens could be arrested for possession of cannabis.
Read more about this topic: Marihuana Tax Act Of 1937
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)