WEBVTT - Bonus Episode: How to Do the Pot

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, I'm Ethan Nadelman, and this is Psychoactive, a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio and Protozoa Pictures. Psychoactive is the

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<v Speaker 1>show where we talk about all things drugs. But any

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<v Speaker 1>views expressed here do not represent those of I Heart Media,

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<v Speaker 1>Protozoa Pictures, or their executives and employees. Indeed, heat as

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<v Speaker 1>an inveterate contrarian, I can tell you they may not

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<v Speaker 1>even represent my own. And nothing contained in this show

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<v Speaker 1>should be used as medical advice or encouragement to use

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<v Speaker 1>any type of drugs. Hello, Psychoactive listeners, So today I

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<v Speaker 1>have a bonus episode for you. One of my guests

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<v Speaker 1>coming up is Ellen Scanlon, who hosts the podcast How

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<v Speaker 1>to Do the Pot about women and cannabis. Their experiences,

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<v Speaker 1>the advice, the joys, the worries, they all have really

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<v Speaker 1>focused on women and marijuana. Uh that she'll be my

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<v Speaker 1>guest in one of the upcoming episodes and Psychoactive. But

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<v Speaker 1>today we bring you a special episode of her podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called Weed Words. This podcast discusses cannabis and is

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<v Speaker 1>intended for audiences twenty one and over. Welcome to How

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<v Speaker 1>to Do the Pot, a podcast demystifying Cannabis for Women.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Ellen Scanlon. Today's episode is part of our series

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<v Speaker 1>called weed Words, where we pick a tricky, telling or

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<v Speaker 1>thought provoking term, or sometimes it's a funny, fictitious or

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<v Speaker 1>factual phrase, and we explore all the ins and outs

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<v Speaker 1>of that weed word so that you can do the

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<v Speaker 1>pot with confidence. You've heard this plant called a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of names, weed, cannabis, pot, grass, or Mary Jane, and

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<v Speaker 1>you've probably heard these words in association with four twenty,

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<v Speaker 1>the high holiday that takes place every year on April.

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<v Speaker 1>The term four twenty was coined in the nineteen seventies

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<v Speaker 1>and has grown into a worldwide celebration of cannabis culture.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's hard to talk about for twenty without recognizing

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<v Speaker 1>that forty thousand people are still in prison in the

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<v Speaker 1>US for cannabis crimes. And did you know that while

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<v Speaker 1>black and white people consume cannabis at the same rates,

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<v Speaker 1>black people are nearly four times more likely to be

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<v Speaker 1>arrested for cannabis. So today, in honor of all the

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<v Speaker 1>cannabis advocates who have worked so hard for legalization and

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<v Speaker 1>an equitable industry, we are going to talk about a

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<v Speaker 1>word that may surprise you with its history. Today's weed

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<v Speaker 1>word marijuana. It's a word so synonymous with cannabis, and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes it's used interchangeably, but as we'll learn today, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a complicated term with a pretty sordid past. Alyssa Yeoman

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<v Speaker 1>is a marketing manager at Leafley, the world's largest cannabis

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<v Speaker 1>information resource, and a co host of Leafley's podcast, The

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<v Speaker 1>roll Up. I asked her about the word marijuana and

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<v Speaker 1>why she thinks it's so mainstream. I think it's because

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<v Speaker 1>the government has an impact on how we talk about things,

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<v Speaker 1>in the language you use for things. In my opinion,

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<v Speaker 1>marijuana is someone who's maybe not yet interacting with the

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<v Speaker 1>plant regularly, or maybe hasn't interacted with the plant, which

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<v Speaker 1>I think is why we can know it's still search

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<v Speaker 1>so much, because people are trying to discover what it's about.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think once you're deeper into that discovery, then

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<v Speaker 1>you'll start using terms like cannabis or weed in marijuana,

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<v Speaker 1>and it kind of would drop out of your vocabulary

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<v Speaker 1>at that point. The origins of marijuana, the word itself

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<v Speaker 1>is comes from oppressive and a racist place, although it's

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<v Speaker 1>lost some of its bite because we often don't think

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<v Speaker 1>about the history of the word. It's still a racist word.

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<v Speaker 1>Just basically, all pocs were kind of lumped into these

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<v Speaker 1>marijuana users, so that's who it's racist against. To fully

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<v Speaker 1>understand this, let's talk about what to most people is

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<v Speaker 1>a secret history about cannabis. So to the time machine,

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<v Speaker 1>cannabis has been consumed for thousands of years all across

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<v Speaker 1>the world. A few notable and very old examples include

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<v Speaker 1>the ancient Egyptians, who use cannabis as a holy anointing oil,

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<v Speaker 1>the ancient Chinese, who detailed over a hundred different medicinal

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<v Speaker 1>uses for the plant, and in India, the Hindu god

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<v Speaker 1>Shiva is fable to have rested under a cannabis plant

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<v Speaker 1>and eaten its leaves. The ancient Greek, and Roman and

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<v Speaker 1>Arabic cultures all have records using the plant. But how

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<v Speaker 1>do we get from this ancient past to today's use

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<v Speaker 1>of the word marijuana. For that, we need to travel

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<v Speaker 1>to the America's, specifically the United States. Back in the

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<v Speaker 1>early sixteen hundreds, hemp was grown in the US like

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<v Speaker 1>any other crop. Ropes, sales, and textiles were all made

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<v Speaker 1>from it. By the seventeen hundreds, it was common and

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<v Speaker 1>President George Washington even explored the possibility of using cannabis

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<v Speaker 1>medicinally in his journals. By the eighteen hundreds, cannabis was

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<v Speaker 1>widely accepted as medicine and was in many mainstream products.

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<v Speaker 1>It was added to the U S Pharmacopeia, which contained

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<v Speaker 1>recipes for the formulation of popular medicines, and was listed

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<v Speaker 1>as a treatment for opioid withdrawal, appetite stimulation, pain, and

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<v Speaker 1>as an anti nausea medicine. To show you how mainstream

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<v Speaker 1>it was. By the late eighteen hundreds, Vanity Fair magazine

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<v Speaker 1>even advertised for a hashish candy that was quote a

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<v Speaker 1>pleasurable and harmless stimulant that could cure melancholy and nervousness.

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<v Speaker 1>Hashish was glamorized by celebrities and enjoyed by the wealthy,

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<v Speaker 1>and the ad wasn't considered radical. By nineteen hundred, cannabis

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<v Speaker 1>was a widely used ingredient in many different American made medications.

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<v Speaker 1>So what happened the US was introduced to the word marijuana.

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<v Speaker 1>Cannabis had been here for hundreds of years, but it

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't until nineteen ten when the word marijuana first appeared.

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<v Speaker 1>Up until that point, the plant was just cannabis. What's

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<v Speaker 1>significant about nineteen ten. From then until nineteen twenty, nearly

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<v Speaker 1>a million Mexican immigrants legally immigrated to the United States

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<v Speaker 1>to escape the Mexican Revolution. These immigrants consumed cannabis differently.

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<v Speaker 1>They smoked it recreationally, a method that really hadn't been

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<v Speaker 1>widely adopted by people in the US. Cannabis had been

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<v Speaker 1>consumed for its intoxicating effects in hashish candies and medicines

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<v Speaker 1>like tinctures, but now a different culture was bringing its

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<v Speaker 1>love of cannabis to the States. Essentially, prior to nineteen ten,

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<v Speaker 1>the word marijuana wasn't even in the American vocabulary. Marijuana

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<v Speaker 1>is a Mexican Spanish term. Maybe if you've seen it

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<v Speaker 1>spelled with an age, that's where that comes from. And

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<v Speaker 1>so when that started to happen and people came over,

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<v Speaker 1>that's when they started calling it local weed. It became

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<v Speaker 1>known as the Mexican menace. Anti drug advocates and anti

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<v Speaker 1>Mexican immigrant advocates began to rebrand the plant. They worked

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<v Speaker 1>to ensure that cannabis was no longer thought of as

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<v Speaker 1>a medicinal herb enjoyed for thousands of years, it became

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<v Speaker 1>a degraded, immoral activity that was negatively associated with Mexican immigrants.

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<v Speaker 1>People started calling it local weed loco, a Spanish word

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<v Speaker 1>for crazy, and marijuana spelled with an H instead of

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<v Speaker 1>a J, so that English speaking Americans would recognize the

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<v Speaker 1>pronunciation of the word. By nineteen thirteen, the first bill

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<v Speaker 1>banning local weed passed in California. Within the next decade,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five other states past laws banning cannabis without any

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<v Speaker 1>public outcry or much political debate. Anti cannabis propaganda was

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<v Speaker 1>in all the headlines, usually with marijuana spelled with an H,

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<v Speaker 1>and things only got worse for the plant from there.

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<v Speaker 1>By the nineteen thirties, the Great Depression began to affect

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<v Speaker 1>millions of Americans. Unemployment was widespread, and those that didn't

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<v Speaker 1>lose their jobs faced pay cuts. The previous influx of

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<v Speaker 1>Mexican immigrants meant that there was a surplus in the

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<v Speaker 1>labor force, and the added competition for work meant that

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<v Speaker 1>the disdain for Mexican Americans only grew to A guy

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<v Speaker 1>named Harry Ann Slinger, he is like all about reefer madness,

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<v Speaker 1>is ready to direct this newly created Federal Brewer of

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<v Speaker 1>narcotics and comes out saying like marijuana is the most

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<v Speaker 1>violence causing drug and at the time, while as jazz

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<v Speaker 1>and stuff was on the Upswing used that to say, Hey, Mary,

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<v Speaker 1>juana is only used by these dark skinned people to

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<v Speaker 1>make them feel like they are as good as white people. Um. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that was essentially one of the quotes that he said,

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<v Speaker 1>and he used this kind of went on his own

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<v Speaker 1>little like marijuana tour created Reefer Madness, and then that

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<v Speaker 1>led to that Marijuana Tacks Act of ninety seven where

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<v Speaker 1>it became federally criminalized in the US. You might remember

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<v Speaker 1>hearing about Harry Anslinger in our Paranoia Weed Words episode.

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<v Speaker 1>He was the first director of the Federal Bureau of

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<v Speaker 1>Narcotics and the godfather of Reefer Madness, the propaganda movement

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<v Speaker 1>and film responsible for stirring up a lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>fear and paranoia around cannabis that still exists today. In

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<v Speaker 1>case you haven't seen this now cult classic film, here's

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<v Speaker 1>a clip from the Refer Madness trailer. These high school

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<v Speaker 1>boys and girls are having a hop at the local

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<v Speaker 1>soda fountain. Innocently they dance, innocent of a new and

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<v Speaker 1>deadly menace lurking behind closed doors. Marijuana the burning weed

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<v Speaker 1>with its roots in hell. For more on refer madness,

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<v Speaker 1>check out our paranoia episode. Before this and before the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ten people were using it pretty much unanimously as

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<v Speaker 1>medicine and in the home. But with that coming in

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<v Speaker 1>and people looking for someone to blame during the Great

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<v Speaker 1>Depression and refer madness kind of all coinciding. That's where

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<v Speaker 1>we have the term marijuana come into play. In The

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<v Speaker 1>Marijuana Tax Act was passed, marijuana again being spelled with

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<v Speaker 1>an H instead of a J. This tax made the

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<v Speaker 1>plant expensive and only wealthy, primarily white people, could access cannabis.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not a big leap to surmise. This was an

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<v Speaker 1>effort to prevent people of color from consuming cannabis while

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<v Speaker 1>still allowing richer white Americans an opportunity to enjoy the plant.

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<v Speaker 1>By the early nineteen forties, cannabis was removed from the

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<v Speaker 1>U S Pharmacopeia and discredited, and in the early nineteen fifties,

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<v Speaker 1>the Bogs Act passed strict mandatory punishments for cannabis consumers.

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<v Speaker 1>Then came the nineteen sixties and the counterculture movement started

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<v Speaker 1>to question this narrative. President John F. Kennedy and Vice

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<v Speaker 1>President Lyndon Johnson commissioned reports that found that cannabis did

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<v Speaker 1>not lead to more dangerous drugs or induce violence. And

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<v Speaker 1>then we get to the part where we'd than war

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<v Speaker 1>on drugs. So this is from we fast forward from

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen thirties to nine eighty. Um, people are still scared

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<v Speaker 1>of marijuana, still associating it with people of color who

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<v Speaker 1>are bringing darkness and all of these bad things quote unquote,

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<v Speaker 1>and Reagan decides to use the term marijuana when doing

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<v Speaker 1>the War on drugs, and so marijuana becomes the term

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<v Speaker 1>that lawmakers are using and that they're using to demonize people.

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<v Speaker 1>This was the era that gave us former First Lady

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<v Speaker 1>Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign and President Reagan's Anti

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<v Speaker 1>Drug Abuse Act, which equated marijuana with heroin. As alyssa

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<v Speaker 1>woman just said, it was really used to demonize people,

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<v Speaker 1>especially people of color, and a lot of the effects

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<v Speaker 1>of this history are still felt heavily today. Christine de

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<v Speaker 1>la Rosa, the co founder and CEO of the People's Ecosystem,

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<v Speaker 1>shares what it was like to tell her traditional Mexican

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<v Speaker 1>parents about consuming cannabis to help with the symptoms of

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<v Speaker 1>the autoimmune disease lupus. And so I said, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I came out because I really wanted to talk to

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<v Speaker 1>you about something. And they're like, okay, you know, what

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<v Speaker 1>do you want to talk about? And I said, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I said, the reason I look this way, the reason

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<v Speaker 1>I feel this way, the reason I was able to

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<v Speaker 1>get on a plane, the reason my doctor's cleared me

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<v Speaker 1>for the plane is because I have been using cannabis,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, to help me with my lupus, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>been very transformative. And I remember my mother. My dad's

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<v Speaker 1>looking down. My mother's like trying to compute what I'm saying.

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<v Speaker 1>And I said, you know, Mom, you told me when

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<v Speaker 1>I was growing up, like, don't smoke marijuana because they're

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<v Speaker 1>going to think you're a lazy Mexican. I said, And

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<v Speaker 1>when I realized that this propaganda that we were sold

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<v Speaker 1>as people of color has kept us from being able

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<v Speaker 1>to heal holistically, I said, so I've decided to go

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<v Speaker 1>into the cannabis business. I didn't even finish this sentence,

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<v Speaker 1>and my mother said in Spanish, um, I'll translate for you.

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<v Speaker 1>She was like, why are you always shaving the family

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<v Speaker 1>it's just like, I'm not shaming the family. It was

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<v Speaker 1>comical now, but I remember just feeling so, you know, like,

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<v Speaker 1>oh my god, I'm crushing my mother. And then I

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<v Speaker 1>said to her, I said, Mom, I said, you were

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<v Speaker 1>there with me when I was on the floor and

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<v Speaker 1>telling you I was dying and my house was like

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<v Speaker 1>a hot mess. I said, do you see me now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not walking with a cane. I was able to

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<v Speaker 1>get on a plane. I said, do you see my

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<v Speaker 1>eyes are brighter and my skin looks healthier, And She's

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<v Speaker 1>like yes, And I said I would not be here today.

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<v Speaker 1>I said, imagine all of the people in the US

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<v Speaker 1>and around the world that are in that same place

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<v Speaker 1>right now. And it's important that there's people of color

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<v Speaker 1>that own in the industry because other people of color

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<v Speaker 1>will see that, and all of the propaganda that they've

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<v Speaker 1>been sold about being lazy Mexicans if they smoke marijuana,

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<v Speaker 1>being drug lords, being cartel people is dispelled when they

0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:52.200
<v Speaker 1>see themselves reflected in the industry that's legal. And so

0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.720
<v Speaker 1>what I would tell other people that come from deeply

0:15:54.760 --> 0:16:00.720
<v Speaker 1>religious backgrounds, that come from deeply conservative areas is to

0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.600
<v Speaker 1>really just talk honestly with your people, whether it's your

0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:07.560
<v Speaker 1>family or your friends, and explain to them why you're

0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:09.920
<v Speaker 1>using it. And you know, if you say I want

0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.000
<v Speaker 1>to use it because I'm a recreational pot smoker, you'll

0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.440
<v Speaker 1>also tell them that, like, there's nothing wrong with this.

0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:16.520
<v Speaker 1>We've been told that there was something wrong. There was

0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:19.040
<v Speaker 1>a set of propaganda that was put forth to say

0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:21.680
<v Speaker 1>it's wrong, But it's actually not wrong. It's a plant.

0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:24.680
<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna tell you what's wrong. What's wrong is parmaceutical

0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:29.920
<v Speaker 1>company making billions of dollars creating oxycotton. That's wrong. Christine's

0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:33.600
<v Speaker 1>story is a powerful reminder of the lingering effects of

0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:38.120
<v Speaker 1>the decades of anti marijuana propaganda that flooded the media

0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:43.880
<v Speaker 1>and deeply affected people of color, especially the Mexican American community.

0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:46.640
<v Speaker 1>And while there is still a lot of work to

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<v Speaker 1>be done, I believe that speaking about the plant without

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<v Speaker 1>the added weight of a history of exclusion and prejudice

0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.760
<v Speaker 1>definitely helps, especially when we talk about it in English

0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:03.280
<v Speaker 1>in the United States. And yet, for many of us,

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<v Speaker 1>the choice to use or not use the word marijuana

0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:12.000
<v Speaker 1>isn't steeped in social justice or political knowledge. It's a

0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:16.560
<v Speaker 1>regurgitation of a term we've heard for decades, probably without

0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:22.040
<v Speaker 1>thinking much about it. But is marijuana an appropriate word

0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:26.640
<v Speaker 1>to use? Alyssa woman shares her thoughts. That's a great question.

0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.320
<v Speaker 1>I think cannabis is the appropriate term to use. It's

0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:35.000
<v Speaker 1>the Latin term for it, it's the the plant name.

0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.840
<v Speaker 1>It was the term that people were using for it

0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:42.480
<v Speaker 1>before they started using it to oppress other people. That's

0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:45.320
<v Speaker 1>when the switch happened. I think when it comes to

0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.240
<v Speaker 1>talking about cannabis and marijuana and the history of both

0:17:49.280 --> 0:17:51.399
<v Speaker 1>the term marijuana, and I think you really can't talk

0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:55.520
<v Speaker 1>about cannabis without talking about the War on drugs. I

0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.879
<v Speaker 1>think the best thing you can always do is remain open,

0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:03.200
<v Speaker 1>and I think people are often scared to approach conversations

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<v Speaker 1>with those who are already very enthusiastic about cannabis because

0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:09.919
<v Speaker 1>we have all this knowledge, we are keeping up with

0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:13.119
<v Speaker 1>the latest. But I think that can come off as

0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:17.399
<v Speaker 1>almost the latest in a way where there is the

0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.720
<v Speaker 1>gate keeping and there's all this information that someone new

0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:22.960
<v Speaker 1>coming into it isn't going to know, and then immediately

0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:28.200
<v Speaker 1>will feel like dumb for not knowing something. I found

0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:33.240
<v Speaker 1>out through education myself that marijuana was a Mexican Spanish word, right, like,

0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:36.960
<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't have known that before, and now when I

0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:39.160
<v Speaker 1>think about it and I hear it, I hear how Yeah,

0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:41.400
<v Speaker 1>this isn't a word that came from the English language.

0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:44.320
<v Speaker 1>But anytime you have these conversations, I think just going

0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:49.440
<v Speaker 1>in open, non judgmental, and just prepared to be patient

0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:55.520
<v Speaker 1>with people, knowing that many people are still scared of marijuana,

0:18:55.560 --> 0:19:00.639
<v Speaker 1>whether that because of stigma, family upbringing, or because of

0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.359
<v Speaker 1>a bad experience that they had when they first tried

0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:06.240
<v Speaker 1>it with someone who wasn't necessarily looking out for the

0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:10.520
<v Speaker 1>best interest. The words you use are of course up

0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:14.880
<v Speaker 1>to you, and I hope explaining why this particular weed

0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.959
<v Speaker 1>word isn't our favorite gives you a better understanding of

0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:28.359
<v Speaker 1>the deep history of cannabis in our culture. For lots

0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:31.879
<v Speaker 1>more information and past episodes, visit do the Pot dot

0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:34.359
<v Speaker 1>com and that's also where you can sign up for

0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:38.600
<v Speaker 1>our newsletter for sneak peaks behind the scenes. Please follow

0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:41.760
<v Speaker 1>us on socials at Do the Pot, and if you

0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:44.439
<v Speaker 1>like how to Do the Pot, please rate and review

0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:47.280
<v Speaker 1>us on Apple Podcasts. It really helps more people find

0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:51.200
<v Speaker 1>the show. Thanks to our writer Malia Grasca and our

0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:55.440
<v Speaker 1>producers Maddie Fair and Nick Patrie. I'm Ellen Scanlon, and

0:19:55.560 --> 0:20:00.040
<v Speaker 1>thanks for listening to How to Do the Pot. The