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An old-school slang term for a cannabis cigarette or the plant itself, popularized during the early 20th century.
Reefer is an early 20th-century slang term for a cannabis cigarette or cannabis in general. The word became widely known through the 1936 propaganda film Reefer Madness, which depicted wildly exaggerated dangers of cannabis use and became a symbol of the misinformation that fueled cannabis prohibition.
The word reefer likely originated in the early 1900s, possibly derived from the Spanish word grifa (cannabis) or from nautical terminology (a reef is a fold in a sail, and reefer could refer to something rolled up). By the 1930s, reefer was the dominant slang term for cannabis in American media and law enforcement. Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, used it extensively in his anti-cannabis campaigns that led to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
Reefer Madness has become a cult classic, ironically celebrated by cannabis enthusiasts as a comedic artifact of prohibition-era hysteria. The film and the term reefer serve as reminders of how cannabis was demonized through fear-based messaging. Today, reefer is used with a retro, tongue-in-cheek quality. Younger cannabis consumers may encounter it more as a cultural reference than as active slang. The term's evolution from fear-mongering propaganda to campy humor reflects the broader cultural shift toward cannabis acceptance.
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