There are many scientific, slang and legal terms for Cannabis. The wide range of terminology for our favorite flower comes from the plant’s illegality and its global reach. Hemp, Cannabis, ganja, hashish, grass, reefer, the devil’s lettuce — social stigmas often shape how we talk about the words that refer to one plant. And these days, with social media deciding that companies get to control the conversation even in places where Cannabis is legalized, there are more and more new expressions to avoid prohibited words like “Cannabis” and “marijuana.”
“Ouid,” spelled like the French “oiu,” is a newer one I’ve seen pop up. Another that’s become popular recently is “gardening.”
A 2024 article on Parents.com says:
“If you’re like most parents, you’d probably be thrilled to hear that your teen has taken up the wholesome hobby of gardening. But if they’re spending more time discussing gardening on TikTok than digging in the dirt, you may find that their new green thumb relates to something else entirely: smoking weed.”
When it comes to words used to work around algorithmic censorship, there are all kinds of coded substitutes, and there are also ways to break down words by using symbols, like typing “c@nnabis” to trick text scanners. Switching to bureaucratized forms of speaking about Cannabis is also happening within our own community in phrases like “plant touching” and “intoxicating hemp.”
Shadowbanning and Censorship
In 2025, a letter led by the Students for Sensible Drug Policy and signed by organizations around the world called for Meta to stop the censorship of Cannabis, psychedelic and harm-related content.
“This suppression is not merely an inconvenience; it is a form of digital marginalization,” the letter reads. “At a time when overdose deaths are a continued concern and mental health crises are accelerating, it is vital that evidence-based, life-saving information is not censored. Harm reduction and drug education save lives. Cannabis and psychedelic therapies are supported by rigorous scientific research and show promise for conditions ranging from PTSD to depression to addiction. These are not fringe topics, but crucial conversations impacting the health and wellbeing of our community.”
The letter goes on to state that “Meta’s platforms are among the most powerful communication tools in human history” and outlines four goals:
1. “End discriminatory bans and shadowbans on accounts related to Cannabis, psychedelics, and harm reduction when they operate within legal guidelines.
2. “Establish clear, transparent, and consistent content policies that distinguish between promotion of the sale of illegal substances and legitimate drug education and advocacy.
3. “Create a dedicated appeals and accountability process specific to drug-related content that includes community stakeholders and subject-matter experts.
4. “Engage in regular dialogue with the psychedelic, Cannabis, and harm reduction communities to better understand our work and co-create equitable guidelines for content moderation.”
“In our modern society, individuals around the world rely upon Facebook, Instagram, and similar platforms for information,” Kat Murti, SSDP executive director, said. “Meta’s decision to limit the ability of nonprofits and legal businesses to use these tools to discuss Cannabis, psychedelics, and harm reduction is not made in a vacuum. By censoring our voices—and encouraging self-censorship among those who work in these spaces—Meta is making a political choice to support drug war policies that have torn apart communities, disenfranchised and imprisoned thousands, and resulted in millions of deaths.”
Algospeak
The new language to get around the algorithm used to circumvent censorship online goes beyond the Cannabis community into other topics and is called “algospeak.” In his 2025 book “Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language,” Adam Alkesic explains how internet algorithms are transforming the way people communicate both online and otherwise.
“We have all these algorithms shaping in-groups and echo chambers and where words come from, how words spread, how trends get popularized, how some words are censored, and we have to find ways around that,” Alkesic told NPR in a 2025 interview. “So one example I start the book with is the word unalive. The word kill is suppressed on TikTok, so many creators have turned to say unalive instead. And now we have kids in middle schools writing essays about Hamlet unaliving himself, and that’s an example of social media algorithmic speak bleeding into the mainstream.”
Adaptation Drives Creativity, but Dilutes the Message
It’s a shame that censorship is controlling the conversation, but it also drives creativity. Some newer words for weed that I think are pretty fun are “penjamin” and “zaza.”
Still, self-censorship shouldn’t become the norm. Shadowbanning and account deactivation dispel our reach online, but I think part of what will work in pushing for change is continuing to say — and post — what we really mean.
