Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 every year. It honors the history, culture and achievements of Americans with roots in Mexico, Spain, Central and South America and the Caribbean. For anyone curious about the Hispanic Heritage Month cannabis connection, the story starts with a single word. This guide covers the observance, the history of the word marijuana, how prohibition and enforcement touched Latino communities, and ways to support Latino-owned businesses all year.
What Hispanic Heritage Month is, and why it runs September 15 to October 15
The observance began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan expanded it to a 30-day period, and it became law on August 17, 1988.
The start date is no accident. September 15 marks the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, and Día de la Raza on October 12 also falls within the month.
Because the dates never change, Hispanic Heritage Month 2024 and Hispanic Heritage Month 2025 both ran from mid-September to mid-October. As of October 2026, this year's observance wrapped up on October 15.
Federal cultural institutions mark the month together. The official Hispanic Heritage Month site is hosted by the Library of Congress, with partners that include the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives and the National Park Service. Its exhibits and collections are open to explore any time of year.
The word marijuana: a Hispanic Heritage Month cannabis history lesson
Where does the word marijuana come from? The origin of the word marijuana is Mexican Spanish: it entered American English in the early 1890s, borrowed from marihuana or mariguana. The popular story that it comes from the name María Juana is probably folk etymology, according to Dictionary.com.
The word didn't travel alone. Historian Isaac Campos has argued that Mexican beliefs tying the drug to madness and violence moved north in the 1890s along with the word, carried by newspapers and other publications. Mexico itself banned marijuana on March 15, 1920, 17 years before the United States passed its federal law.
That 1937 law, the Marihuana Tax Act, was approved on August 2, 1937, and it used the "h" spelling. Michigan's 2018 adult-use law, the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, keeps the same spelling today. Dictionaries now list marijuana first, with marihuana as a variant. Our guide to other names for marijuana traces where pot, reefer and other nicknames came from.
How "marihuana" entered prohibition politics
Latino cannabis history runs through the politics of the 1930s, too. By then, the Spanish-derived word was the one lawmakers used.
Federal narcotics chief Harry Anslinger pushed for a national law and cited crime cases from New Orleans in his evidence to Congress. Worries about use among young people also fed the push for the 1937 act. Research cited in a 2025 review notes that arrests of young white people in New Orleans came before Anslinger's campaign. The story was never only about one community.
How much anti-Mexican prejudice drove that law is a real debate among historians:
- The familiar account holds that hostility toward Mexican immigrants was central to early prohibition laws.
- A more recent view draws on Campos's research, summarized in a 2025 review in the journal Addiction. It argues that Mexican use played a smaller part in the 1937 federal law than popular histories suggest.
Both views agree the word itself came from Mexico.
Today, some advocates prefer "cannabis" because they see "marijuana" as loaded. A 2019 survey experiment found Americans' views on legalization didn't shift with the word used. You'll see both words in Michigan, including in state law. At High Society, we use "cannabis" in most of our writing and "marijuana" where a law or a medical card uses it.
How prohibition and enforcement affected Latino communities
Cannabis prohibition history didn't end with the 1937 law. Whatever drove the first laws, enforcement in the decades of the war on drugs fell unevenly. Measuring the effect on Latino communities is harder than it should be, because arrest records often count Latino people as white.
A 2016 report from the ACLU of California and the Drug Policy Alliance shows both the gap and the data problem:
- National data: For 2010, national figures on Latino marijuana arrests weren't available.
- California, 2010: Latino residents made up 41.5% of people arrested for marijuana possession and 38.4% of the state's population.
- After 2011: California made small-amount possession an infraction, and misdemeanor marijuana arrests fell by 86 percent. Even so, Latino residents were cited 1.4 times as often as white residents in Los Angeles and 1.7 times as often in Fresno.
- Use rates don't explain it. Citing national survey data, the report notes that white people use marijuana at higher rates than Latinos.
The report adds that these disparities are likely understated, since Latinos are often classified as white. It also notes that a misdemeanor record carries consequences an infraction doesn't, such as being shut out of some public benefit programs.
Our Michigan expungement guide covers clearing old marijuana records. Our Juneteenth article looks at the parallel history in Black communities.
The law has shifted since then, unevenly. Michigan voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018. Federal law has moved more slowly: as of October 2026, marijuana covered by a state medical license sits in Schedule III, along with marijuana drugs the FDA has approved. All other marijuana, including adult-use, remains in Schedule I.
A short timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| Early 1890s | "Marijuana" enters American English from Mexican Spanish |
| 1920 | Mexico bans marijuana |
| 1937 | The federal Marihuana Tax Act is approved |
| 1968 | Hispanic Heritage Week begins |
| 1988 | The observance expands to a 30-day month |
| 2018 | Michigan voters legalize adult-use cannabis |
| 2026 | Marijuana covered by a state medical license moves to federal Schedule III; adult-use stays in Schedule I |
Hispanic Heritage Month and cannabis today: Latino entrepreneurs, growers and advocates
Latino-owned businesses work across today's legal cannabis industry, from retail to cultivation. Latino growers, extraction technicians, budtenders and managers keep those businesses running. Advocates have also pushed to clear old records and to open licenses to people from hard-hit communities.
Together they form a Latino cannabis community that spans the shop floor to the statehouse. National data on Latino ownership and employment in cannabis is limited. Some states do track it: neighboring Illinois, for one, has run regular diversity surveys of its cannabis businesses and their employees.
Our social equity explainer looks at programs meant to open the industry to people from communities hit hardest by past enforcement. If you work in cannabis or hope to, look for equity programs, industry associations and mentoring networks that focus on founders and workers who have been underrepresented.
Ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
The month is a chance to learn as well as to celebrate. A few ideas:
- Explore the official collections. The Hispanic Heritage Month site gathers exhibits and resources from federal museums and archives.
- Visit your library or a local museum, and check their calendars for talks, film screenings and readings during the month.
- Mark the independence days. Learn the stories behind September 15, 16 and 18 and the countries that celebrate them.
- Cook and share a family recipe, and the story of where it came from.
- Read a Latino author or listen to an album from an artist new to you.
- Listen to Latino voices directly. Oral histories, recordings and exhibits in federal collections let people tell their own stories.
How to support Latino-owned businesses all year
Hispanic Heritage Month is a good reminder, but support counts every month. If you want to support Hispanic-owned businesses:
- Shop and eat local. Make Latino-owned restaurants, bakeries, markets and service businesses part of your routine.
- Find them through community groups. Local Hispanic chambers of commerce and community organizations often keep business directories.
- Show up. Go to cultural festivals, art shows, concerts and markets in your area.
- Volunteer. Community centers, food banks and civic groups welcome help year-round.
- Share their stories. Leave reviews, recommend businesses to friends and share their work online.
- Seek out Latino artists, authors and musicians, and buy their work directly when you can.
- Ask where your money goes. Whatever you're buying, it's fair to ask a store about the brands it carries and who's behind them.
Celebrating responsibly
If your celebration includes cannabis, keep it safe and legal:
- Adults only. Adult-use cannabis in Michigan is for adults 21 and older, and medical patients 18 and older with a card can also buy.
- Keep it private. Using cannabis in public isn't allowed in Michigan.
- Plan your rides. Never drive after using cannabis.
- Label infused food and keep it away from kids and pets. Serve infused dishes apart from everything else, and make a plain batch for guests who don't partake.
- Stay in Michigan. Don't travel across state lines with cannabis.
Cooking for a gathering? Our recipe for lamb meatballs in ancho-guajillo red sauce builds an infused dinner on two classic Mexican dried chiles.
Questions about products for your celebration? Our budtenders are happy to help at any of our Michigan stores. Bring a valid government-issued ID, and enjoy responsibly.
