80 Years Ago, 'Muggles' Meant 'Marijuana'

Just in time for the millions of Muggles awaiting this weekend's Harry Potter finale comes this delightful story from the Time archives, dated Sept. 7, 1931: "Ten cents' worth of a certain bird seed, planted in any back yard, will grow into a yardful of marijuana. Its leaves can be dried, ground and rolled into cigarets, which are bootlegged under the name of 'muggles,' 'reefers,' or 'Mary Warners.' Thinner, shorter than standard cigarets, 'muggles' are made from the small delicate leaves of the female marijuana plant. [...] In New Orleans many a schoolchild is said to be an addict; prison authorities find muggle-smuggling a perplexing problem." Muggle-smuggling! Anyway, now you know. [Time via The Atlantic Wire]