'marijuana' originates from Spanish, specifically the word 'marihuana', where 'mari-' is a diminutive form and '-huana' is a variant of 'juana', a personal name.

'marihuana' changed from the Spanish word 'marihuana' and eventually became the modern English word 'marijuana'.

Initially, it referred to the cannabis plant, but over time it evolved into its current meaning of a psychoactive drug derived from the plant.