Weed, Hierba, Green… This is what cannabis is called around the world
Juanita, weed, ganja, hierba, marijuana, mariguana, orégano, hashish: these are just a few of the countless names cannabis has been given since its recreational and medicinal properties first became known (using cannabis-derived CBD against Parkinson's, for example).
A plant found all over the world normally has up to half a dozen names per language or culture, but that is not the case with cannabis, which in some countries, such as Mexico, has accumulated more than a hundred names since the 19th century, even though the plant, Cannabis sativa, was brought to the country by the Spanish in the mid-16th century.
Cannabis in the world
The origins of cannabis use go back thousands of years, and the plant is thought to have been domesticated in regions of southern and central Asia, from where it began to spread thanks to its many and varied uses, usually known as Indian hemp.
The explosion of names for cannabis began during the 19th century, and especially during the 20th century, when it went underground, being declared illegal and subject to persecution, led to it being christened in many different ways.
The most famous popular name for cannabis originated in Mexico: marihuana, marijuana or marijuana; Mary Jane in English.
Marijuana in the Anglo-Saxon world
Other international names are ganja, amnesia, doobie, Houdini, reefer (from which the Spanish nickname grifo derives), grass, weed, green, spliff, herb, Bud, pot, joint, blunt, dank and bag of bones (to refer to a bag containing several cannabis joints).
Cannabis in other regions of the world
Other names around the world: maconha (in Brazil), banga (Equatorial Guinea), porro, grifa, alfalfa, mandanga, etc. (Spain), faso, fino, joi (Paraguay), marimba, cusumbo, maracachanga (Colombia), chala (Argentina), ma (China), ku-shung-pen (Jamaica), chanvre (France), ganja (Hindi) and Hanf (German), among others.
It is the most widely consumed psychotropic drug in the world, so it is not surprising that in every language it has one or more nicknames.
Marijuana in Mexico
The Spanish brought hemp from India to Mexico with the intention of cultivating it to develop the textile industry, but the plant was soon destined for other uses, medicinal and recreational.
Without a doubt, Mexico takes the prize as the country with the most names for cannabis, as Jorge García-Robles showed in his book Antología del vicio. Aventuras y desventuras de la mariguana en México (2013).
In his research, García-Robles collected more than a hundred names for marijuana or mariguana, in literary texts but also in scientific ones, such as those found in the Farmacopea mexicana (1846).
Simple names
The names of cannabis range from very simple terms to phrases of great poetic flight, such as shora or chora, chíchara, roasted cauliflower, chlorophyll, atacama, alfalfa, chipiturca, greña, grifa, moronga, morisqueta, mota, etc.
Poetic names
Sheep's tail, lion's cream, lady with fiery hair, green goddess, Doña Juanita, Japanese birdseed leaves, angel's buttocks and soft butterfly breast, among other names, could only have come about in the midst of an experience with Doña Juanita.
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