Reefer: Definition, Etymology, and Cultural Legacy

A cannabis slang term often used to refer to a joint. The term «reefer» was both popularized and stigmatized by the melodramatic propaganda film from the 1930s, *Reefer Madness*, in which cannabis lures users into a dangerous trap.

In its modern sense, the term «reefer» sometimes refers specifically to a seal infused or fortified, to which a concentrate (kief, oil, wax) has been added to increase its potency. This definition, popularized by R. Gold in *Cannabis Alchemy* (1971), is similar to what is now called a preroll infiltrated the legal markets.

What does reefer mean?

The term «reefer», which means «weed» in slang, was first associated with cannabis cultivation in the 1930s. According to’Oxford English Dictionary, the term first appeared in 1931, when Time Magazine published an article stating that cannabis leaves could be dried, ground and then rolled into a «reefer» cigarette. These cigarettes «are sold as ‘muggles’, ‘reefer’ or ‘Mary Warners'», according to Time.

Etymologists aren't sure exactly how the term «reefer» became so closely associated with cannabis, but some, including OED, claim it's derived from the Spanish word for marijuana, «grifa». Others claim it was adopted from sailors« slang; in sailing, »reef« means to roll up the sail - in the same way as you roll up a joint - and a »reefer" is the sailor who does the rolling up.

The Reefer in 1930s Jazz Culture

Even before the propaganda film, the term «reefer» was already deeply rooted in American jazz culture of the 1920s and 1930s. Cannabis was widespread in the music scenes of the time (Harlem, New Orleans, Chicago), and the reefer was celebrated rather than stigmatized.

Cab Calloway popularized the term in his song «Reefer Man» (1932) : «Have you ever met that funny reefer man?», a barely veiled ode to cannabis, recorded for the film International House. Louis Armstrong, a well-known cannabis user and low-key advocate for legalization, smoked joints daily and spoke openly about it in his interviews.

It was precisely this association between the reefer, jazz, and African American musicians that fueled the campaign to’Harry Anslinger whose racist rhetoric explicitly targeted African American culture and its cultural expressions.

«Reefer Madness.

The greatest claim to fame for the term reefer is, without doubt, the 1936 film «Reefer Madness».

The 1930s were marked by a huge surge in demand for our products. aimed at demonizing cannabis. A massive anti-cannabis campaign, led by Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the newly created Federal Bureau of Narcotics, In the U.S., Anslinger and other anti-cannabis campaigners claimed that the plant made users violent. This anti-cannabis smear campaign was largely aimed at simultaneously demonizing Mexican immigrants, who used «marihuana» for both recreational and medicinal purposes.

One of the tactics used to scare the public and alert them to the «dangers» of cannabis were propaganda films - the most visible being «Reefer Madness». The film follows a group of high-school students who take part in «reefer parties» at the home of an unmarried couple - and get into all sorts of trouble in the process.

«Reefer Madness» was a melodramatic account of the dangers of cannabis, with no basis in fact or science. The film was poorly received on release, but thanks to its exaggerated nature, it enjoyed a resurgence in the 1960s as a cult classic.

Today, the film is regarded by the cannabis community as satire, and is frequently shown at midnight screenings across the country. The film was also satirized as a musical in «Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical», starring Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, Alan Cumming, Neve Campbell and Ana Gasteyer.