Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

. Its usage in English dates to before 1689.

Etymology

''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒaː, a name for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

, which is derived from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...

, referring to a "powerful preparation from ''

Cannabis sativa ''Cannabis sativa'' is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to Eastern Asia, but now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fiber ...

''". The word was used in Europe as early as 1856, when the British enacted a tax on the "ganja" trade. One academic source places the date of introduction of ganja in Jamaica at 1845. The term came with 19th century workers whose descendants are now known as

Indo-Jamaicans Indo-Jamaicans are the descendants of people who came from the Indian subcontinent to Jamaica. Indians form the third largest ethnic group in Jamaica after Africans and Multiracials. History Due to deteriorating socioeconomic of conditions in ...

Contemporary use of the term ''ganja''

English use

''Ganja'' is the most common term for

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...

In popular culture

In 1975,

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963 ...

defended the use of ganja in the song "

Legalize It ''Legalize It'' is the debut studio album by Jamaican singer-songwriter and former Wailer Peter Tosh, released in June 1976. It was recorded at Treasure Isle and Randy's, Kingston. ''Legalize It'' is one of the two solo albums released in 197 ...

". The hip hop group

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

revived the term in the United States in 2004 in a song titled "Ganja Bus", followed by other artists, including rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

, in the 2009 song "Must Be the Ganja".

In other languages

Derivatives of the term are also used as generic words for marijuana in several language, such as Khmer (, ''kanhchhea''), Lao (, ''kan sa'') and Tiwi ().Dictionary
AuSIL

References

Cannabis Cannabis culture English words Etymologies {{cannabis-stub