How the Irish Invented Marijuana Slang

In his book 'How the Irish Invented Slang', Daniel Cassidy looks at words that are normally used to describe things linked to the world of marijuana, words which have their origins in Irish words.

Cassidy explains that he found the words in an old book kept by a friend who had passed away. The book explained the origin and the meaning of certain terms, and he himself took charge of studying it and defining each term.

When reading that book he found the word 'Gage' that Louis Armstrong affectionately used to refer to marijuana. As the writer would later discover, that word comes from another Gaelic word, 'Gaid', pronounced as 'gad', 'gadge' or 'gaj, that means "twisted branches, cord or hemp". 

Cassidy explains that another term that comes from the Irish is 'hep' (hepatitis) or 'hip' as it was believed that hepatitis could be caused by smoking cannabis, a belief that has long since been rejected over time. However, in slang, the term is used to define someone who is intelligent, well informed, wise and stylish. This may derive from the old Irish term "aibi", pronounced as "h-ab" which means "mature, quick and intelligent". 

'Grouch' is another of the words, it is used to describe a smoker who feels tormented, worried, pained or annoyed and the term comes the 'grouch bag', a bag used by the Marx brothers to carry around marijuana. It is believed that the Irish origin is in the word 'Craite' (which means "angry"). 

'Dude', in turn, is a term typically used by marijuana smokers to refer to other smokers, and it comes from the Irish word 'dud' meaning "stupid or silly looking". To find out more about the origins of cannabis slang, you just need to delve into the book, it will certainly not leave you indifferent.

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Information taken from Cannabisculture.com