Cannabis Is Cannabis: 'Why We Need To Stop Using The Archaic Word ‘Hemp’
Originally published in Weed World Magazine issue 164 (July 2023)
Ganja, Skunk, Weed, Bud, Sticky Icky, Marihuana, Green, The Devil's Lettuce, Hemp, Ma, Gañjikā, Wacky Baccy, Dope, Grass, and Marijuana etc. Over the years there have been few floral family members that have come to be known by as many diverse and unique names as the humble cannabis plant
Cannabis is believed to be the first plant intentionally cultivated by early humans with historical evidence of its use being discovered by archaeologists and researchers at many ancient sites including China, Iran, Palestine, England, Scotland, Egypt, Turkey, India, Nepal, and Italy to name but a few. Given the diversity of these cultures and societies cannabis has become known by many different names in a multitude of proto-languages throughout history.
The etymology of the modern word cannabis originally derives from the Assyrian word ‘Qunub’ which later became ‘Kanab’ in Scythian. The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus documents that the Scythians introduced the Greeks to cannabis where it became known as ‘Kάνναβις’ (Kannabis). Through the process of palatalization ‘Kannabis’ in ‘Classical Latin’ became ‘Cannabis’ in ‘Literary Latin’.
‘Kannabis’ and ‘Kanab’ became the root of the word ‘Cannabis’ in a multitude of languages including ‘Kanab’ in Persian, ‘Kanap’ in Armenian, ‘Konoplja’ in Russian, ‘Kanep’ in Albanian, ‘Kanapes’ in Lithuanian, ‘Kanepes’ in Latvian, ‘Konopi’ in Czech, ‘Konopie’ in Polish, and ‘Kanas’ in Celtic.
The Anglo-Saxon word or old Proto-Germanic word for cannabis is ‘Hænep’. This antiquated, archaic, and ancient word finds its origins in the same root word as ‘Cannabis’ and describes the same thing. In the same way that many Latin words changed the pronunciation of ‘K’ to a ‘C’ many of the Proto-Germanic languages altered ‘K’ to ‘H’ and ‘B’ to a ‘P’ sound when pronouncing words derived from Late or Literary Latin'.
This process of alternation, known as ‘Grimm’s Law’, changed the Latin word ‘Cannabis’ into a multitude of variants of the archaic anglicized word ‘Hemp’ in the modern Germanic languages. So cannabis became ‘Hamp’ in Danish and Norwegian, ‘Hanf’ in German, ‘Hampa’ in Swedish, ‘Hampi’ in Icelandic, and ‘Hemp’ in Old English (Anglo-Saxon).
The standardisation of the nomenclature for the Cannabaceae family cannabis-type plants as Cannabis Sativa L occurred in the mid-18th century. The name was first proposed by ‘The father of modern taxonomy’ Swedish botanist, taxonomist, and Latin enthusiast Carl Linnaeus. In his 1753 book 'Species Plantarum’ he proposed using the scholarly language of ‘New Latin’ to create a stationary and standardised nomenclature to categorise all life on earth.
The now ubiquitous binomial system often referred to as the ‘scientific name’ or ‘Latin name’ is a two-name system made up of the generic and specific names of a particular species or genus. Cannabis Sativa L has since been the only accepted binomial nomenclature for all the currently accepted varieties of cannabis including Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis Ruderalis.
Notice how there is no Cannabis ‘Hemp’? That’s because in ‘Modern English’ or the New English language (the one we speak now) ‘Cannabis’ is the standardised, scientific, and singular name for the plant genus and sub-genus Cannabis Sativa L. The ‘Old English’ word ‘Hemp’ literally means ‘Cannabis’ in the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) language – a ‘dead language’ not used or spoken for several centuries. So isn’t it time we moved with the times and called this wonderful plant by its actual name?
Why do we need to stop using the word ‘Hemp’ I hear you ask. Well, in my opinion, the usage of the extinct archaic Angelo-Saxon word by modern businesses and industrialists is either a genuine ignorant oversight caused by the Dunning Kruger Effect or a kind of dog whistle.
It signifies to other opportunistic capitalists that they too don’t want to end cannabis prohibition and help repair the decades of devastation, divestment, destitution, and destruction it has inflicted upon tens of millions of peaceful consumers.
These ‘Hempsters’ simply want to profiteer from certain aspects of the plant while leaving the historic injustices, inequities, and crimes of prohibition unaddressed, unchallenged, and unchanged. Advocating for the creation of a two-tier legal regulatory system for cannabis is inherently classist it is a form of gentrification, cultural appropriation, and economic erasure.
The perpetuation of the incorrect term ‘Hemp’ to describe a group of arbitrary low-THC cultivars and the non-psychoactive industrial applications of cannabis harms both sides of this artificial binary debate. It promotes the creation of legislation that demonises the psychoactive use of cannabis to allow a small group to profiteer from the perpetuation of the most pernicious parts of prohibition and over-policing of already socio-economically deprived communities.
The continued unscientific usage of the archaic word ‘Hemp’ to describe the non-psychoactive by-products of cannabis creates a false dichotomy in the mind of the layman. It promulgates and perpetuates a misconception to the public that proponents of low-THC cannabis or so-called ‘Hemp’ are harmless hippie types who just want to save the earth. While promoting the paranoid and prejudicial point of view that THC-rich cannabis consumers are dangerous druggies, violent criminals, and vicious thugs. This faux binary and the consequences created by the continuation of this corruption of terms is a deliberate one that has long been codified into international and national legislation and conventions. As the Nazi father of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels allegedly once said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.
The continued use of the word ‘Hemp’ as with ‘Medical Cannabis’ or ‘Marijuana’ sows division, promotes misinformation and impedes any rational discussion about actually ending cannabis prohibition once and for all. It harms any attempts to reunify cannabis and the multitude of diverse sub-cultures currently fighting for our freedom to cultivate a relationship with cannabis. It keeps us busy bickering over regulatory and bureaucratic nuances rather than unifying to call for an end to the legal discrimination and persecution we face every damn day.
Over the last several decades the cannabis culture and community have been gaslighted into internalising the ideology and language of the authoritarians and prohibitionists – while they continue to prosecute us. We have been tricked into fighting for the installation of a prohibition-lite or prohibition 2.0 paradigm against our best interests and basic human rights.
For too long language has been weaponised to disempower, disenfranchise, and divide authentic grassroots movements eager to once and for all end cannabis prohibition. We can no longer continue to use the language of the oppressor simply to appease and placate their faux moral beliefs, prejudices, and misplaced sense of superiority.
Cannabis prohibition is and always has been morally, ethically, and logically wrong and those who have and continue to enforce it have committed crimes against all of humanity.
Language beyond being just a mere means of communication is a vital tool used to annunciate truth, cultivate commonality, and articulate one's individual experience to others. The erosion and dilution of the language and nomenclature surrounding cannabis disarms, disables, and denies dissenters meaningful representation and a voice in matters that so heavily impact their daily lives.
Since the commencement of cannabis prohibition the authoritative, judicial, and policing institutions around the world have criminalised, vilified, and violated the human rights of millions of otherwise innocent individuals. For decades our very existence has been criminalised, demonised, and legislated against simply because we enjoy one of the most widely used plants in human history.
As I have articulated many times in this wonderful publication there is currently a war being fought for the soul of cannabis. On one side you have the legacy cannabis-consuming culture and community versus the collective might of the pharmaceutical, tobacco, and alcohol industries, former prohibitionists/police, corrupt politicians, greedy investment firms, and the entire ‘medicinal cannabis industrial complex’.
Ceasing to use the word ‘Hemp’ and instead using the correct botanical name cannabis helps to destigmatise, demystify, and deconstruct the decades of lies and propaganda perpetuated by governmental institutions, healthcare professionals, and prohibitionists. It would help the culture to finally challenge the corporate hegemony and fiefdom of the multinational conglomerates hell-bent on world domination – while we remain criminalised.
By calling cannabis what it is we take back the autonomy, power, and sovereignty that prohibition has taken from us. We shouldn’t have to hide behind words like ‘medicinal’ or ‘Hemp’ any longer. We could be free to proudly declare our affinity, appreciation, and love for this highly versatile botanical miracle. Most importantly though by being brave enough to use the correct nomenclature you are actively honouring and respecting the plant and the sacrifices of all those cannabis enthusiasts that came before you.
Written for Weed World Magazine By Simpa
