The phrase “marijuana” will probably be stricken from all laws within the state of Washington underneath a invoice not too long ago handed by state lawmakers. The measure, House Bill 1210, will substitute the time period “marijuana” with the phrase “hashish” in all state statutes after being signed into legislation by Democratic Governor Jay Inslee final month.
Democratic state Consultant Melanie Morgan, the sponsor of the laws, advised her colleagues within the Home final yr that the phrase “marijuana” has racial undertones that return practically a century.
“The time period ‘marijuana’ itself is pejorative and racist,” Morgan said. “As leisure marijuana use grew to become extra in style, it was negatively related to Mexican immigrants.”
“Regardless that it appears easy as a result of it’s only one phrase, the fact is, we’re therapeutic the wrongs that have been dedicated in opposition to Black and Brown folks round hashish,” she added.
Racist Language in Laws
Morgan mentioned that the phrase’s racist connotation was initiated by Harry Anslinger, the primary commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which later grew to become the Drug Enforcement Administration. Anslinger was an instrumental pressure within the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which started the U.S. prohibition of hashish.
“It was … Anslinger that mentioned, and I quote, ‘Marijuana is probably the most violent inflicting drug within the historical past of mankind. And most marijuana customers are Negroes, Hispanic, Caribbean, and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz, and swing outcomes from marijuana utilization,’” Morgan mentioned throughout a legislative listening to.
State Consultant Emily Wicks mentioned the invoice might help change how conversations about hashish are framed.
“Though we name it a technical repair, I believe it does rather a lot to undo, or not less than right in some effort, a few of the critical harms round this language,” Wicks mentioned.
Pleasure Hollingsworth, who owns Hollingsworth Hashish Firm together with her household, advised KIRO tv information that the phrase “marijuana” is an unwelcome time period for many individuals in communities of shade.
“It had been talked about for a very long time in our group about how that phrase demonizes the hashish plant,” mentioned Hollingsworth, who discovered concerning the damaging affiliation of the phrase from her mom.
“She was the one who educated us on the time period and the way it was derogatory, and we shouldn’t use it anymore,” Hollingsworth mentioned. “Now we have lots of people, particularly within the Black group, that went to jail over hashish for years, that have been locked up, separated from their nuclear household, which is big.”
Hollingsworth mentioned that Home Invoice 1210 is a step in the precise course. However she would additionally wish to see extra motion on social fairness in hashish from state lawmakers.
“We’ll take any win, proper? However we don’t need to get caught up on the performative fairness piece the place we’re simply speaking about phrases and never precise laws and coverage,” Hollingsworth mentioned.
One chance could be to speculate hashish taxes in communities disproportionately impacted by the Struggle on Medication.
“We’ll really feel just like the trade has paid off after we see these funds get put into school scholarships,” Hollingsworth mentioned. “Possibly a household wished to purchase a house, they usually have been from the Central District of Seattle, they usually wished to return there as a result of they have been priced out. They might get a mortgage from these funds. Enthusiastic about inventive methods to make impactful scalable options in our group is what I’m on the lookout for.”
Hashish Business and Advocates Help Invoice
Home Invoice 1210 was supported by state and nationwide hashish reform advocacy teams and trade representatives, together with the Craft Hashish Coalition (CCC), a Tacoma-based retail commerce group.
“Our affiliation is supportive of social fairness within the hashish trade and strongly acknowledge the hurt the conflict on medicine prompted,” CCC Government Director Adán Espino Jr. told The Center Square in an e-mail. “We don’t really feel as strongly concerning the time period ‘marijuana’ as others appear to, however we do admire the transition to the time period ‘hashish’ because the trade continues to develop and professionalize. If the time period ‘marijuana’ has fallen off form, that’s simply the fact of it.”
Tiffany Watkins, a member of the Nationwide Hashish Business Affiliation’s Range, Fairness & Inclusion Committee, mentioned that Washington must make extra substantive efforts at social fairness within the hashish trade.
“Whereas it’s undoubtedly time to steer completely away from phrases based mostly in racism, changing marijuana with hashish is merely a drop within the ocean with regards to correcting the mistaken executed by the conflict on medicine,” she mentioned by way of e-mail. “Rather more consideration must be delivered to how a state with over 10 years of authorized hashish operations nonetheless has no social fairness program in place to acknowledge the limitations to entry for its BIPOC [Black, indigenous, people of color] people.”
In 2020, the Washington legislature established the Washington Job Drive on Social Fairness in Hashish to develop insurance policies and proposals to assist social fairness within the state’s hashish trade. The panel is presently engaged on proposals to supply grants to social fairness candidates to assist fund the launch and licensing of recent hashish companies. Home Invoice 1210 goes into impact in June.