Councillor to stop using racist ‘marijuana’

A Halifax councillor says he will no longer use the term “marijuana” because it is racist, sparking a social media debate over the wellused synonym for cannabis. Coun. Shawn Cleary said a police officer he works with on a cannabis legalization task force recently brought it to his attention that the term has a racist history.

Cleary said in the early 1900s during the criminalization of cannabis in the U.S., “marijuana” was used to demonize marginalized communities, namely Mexicans. He said after doing some of his own research on the term’s origins, he decided to stop using it, saying earlier this week on Twitter: “Let’s do what we can to not perpetuate racism.”

“We need to actually have conversations, have dialogue, and talk about these things. By doing that we’re actually increasing the amount of understanding and interest in history,” said Cleary in an interview Thursday. “These are teaching moments. They are opportunities for us to go and learn stuff and to find out more about the history of the world around us.”

His tweets have prompted a social media firestorm - including comments from a fellow councillor denouncing the issue.

“Only in Canada could you smoke it but not say it,” Coun. Matt Whitman said on Twitter in response to a poll from a local Halifax radio station, which tweeted: “Should we stop using the word marijuana?”