# Marijuana

> Marijuana is a common name for drug-type cannabis flower; the word entered US English from Mexican Spanish and became the standard term in 20th-century law.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/marijuana.html
- Also written: marihuana, weed, pot, ganja, herb, grass
- Glossary category: Grower slang and culture
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Marijuana (also spelled marihuana) is a popular name for the dried flowering [tops](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/top-shelf.md) of drug-type cannabis. Weed, pot, ganja, herb and grass are other common names. Botanically, all of these are *[Cannabis sativa](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cannabis-sativa.md)* L.

## In practice

The word comes from Mexican Spanish and spread in US English in the early 20th century. It was written into US federal law in the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act and later statutes, and many laws still use it. Some people now avoid the word because of how it was used in early prohibition campaigns; regulators and industry increasingly prefer "cannabis". Ganja comes from Sanskrit and Hindi and entered English through South Asian and Caribbean use.

GenetixBay uses "cannabis" in technical writing and does not police other words.

## Don't confuse with

- **Hemp**: cannabis grown for fibre, seed or low-THC flower, often defined in law by a [THC](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/thc.md) limit.
- **Hashish**: compressed resin, not flower.
- **Cannabis**: the genus name, and the neutral modern term for both.

## Related terms

[Hemp](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hemp.md), [Sinsemilla](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/sinsemilla.md), [Scheduling](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/scheduling.md), [420](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/420.md)

## Read more

- [Cannabis plant biology: the parts and what they do](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/basics/cannabis-plant-biology.md)