the.com/weed
a plant so good at surviving that humans argue about it in courtrooms instead of gardens
means A plant growing where it isn't wanted — or, in casual speech, cannabis — depending on whose garden and whose laws you're standing in.
from From Old English 'wēod,' meaning a grass or herb, with cousins in Old Saxon and Old High German. The word originally just meant a plant, with no insult attached; the scorn came later, as humans decided which green things deserved to stay. The slang for cannabis is a 20th-century American twist, leaning on the older sense of an unruly, fast-spreading plant. (Note: 'weeds' meaning a widow's mourning clothes is a separate, unrelated word, from Old English 'wǣd,' garment.)
- legal limbo
- Federally illegal yet sold openly in most US states
- ancient habit
- Cultivated by humans for over 12,000 years
- endocannabinoid
- Your brain makes its own version naturally
- hemp cousin
- Same species, but won't get you high
- weight pun
- Slang likely from its sheer commodity bulk
cannabis sativa — plant species containing thc, legalized in canada (2018), uruguay (2013), and 24+ us states
dandelion — common lawn weed across north america and europe, used medicinally for centuries
crabgrass — invasive grass in lawns across north america, costs homeowners ~$1 billion annually in removal