Woman named ‘Marijuana Pepsi’ since birth doesn’t smoke or drink soda – but she’ll never change her name

A woman named Marijuana Pepsi since birth says she’ll never change her name — even though she doesn’t smoke weed, drink soda or drink alcohol.

Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck, 52, was given the name by her mother – who said the name would ‘show her around the world’ because of its originality.

Growing up, Marihuana said she would be questioned by name and whispered about—and people assumed her mother was on drugs or in jail, which is untrue.

Marihuana holds a PhD in Higher Education Leadership, works at Baltimore County Community College and is the founder of the Action as Empowerment Center for Change.

She’s always been asked why she hasn’t changed her name – or been told she should.

People are sometimes so uncomfortable with saying the nickname that they call her Mary – even when she asked them not to.

She’s not a pop fan like Pepsi, and has never smoked—even though marijuana companies approach her “all the time” asking to work with her.

The academic said he would never change it – to emphasize that you can’t judge someone by their name alone.

Marihuana, who lives near Live Oak, Florida, said: “Classmates and even teachers would whisper and come up to me asking if that was my real name.

“I would hear people speculating about whether my mother was a ‘head-sucker’ – I still have people saying that to this day.

“When people learn my name, they ask my nickname. I tell them if calling me Marijuana isn’t comfortable, they can call me Dr Vandyck.

“I always knew I would get a doctorate after dedicating my life to education – and I thought if people were going to call me Marijuana Pepsi, I would be Dr Marijuana Pepsi.

“It’s my superpower because I don’t have to live up to other people’s expectations – people think things about me based on my name, but I define success on my own terms.”

Marihuana, now the mother of son Isaac Sawyer, 21, grew up asking questions about her name every day.

She would whisper and hear the school parents asking each other “what kind of mother would name her child Marijuana?”

They would even suggest that her late mother, Brandy ‘Maggie’ Johnson, was a hard drug user, or a criminal.

But Marihuana said her mother was neither – and chose the name because it would make her daughter stand out and be a “force in the world”.

Marihuana isn’t sure why her middle name, Pepsi, was chosen — though she assumes it’s to make the name even more unique.

She has had job applications rejected and people have suggested she should not be allowed to work in education despite her extensive qualifications – all based on her name.

As an accomplished principal and academic, even people who are aware of her academic achievements tell her when they meet her that she is “nothing like I thought you would be”.

Growing up, she would be asked if people could call her ‘Mary’ or nicknames or abbreviations, but only accepts being called by her full name.

She explained that this is because she is not ashamed of the name – even if it makes others uncomfortable.

Marihuana said: “I’m not going to answer to another name to appease someone who is clearly in their head about what they think it means to call me by my name.

“It’s a problem, but it’s not my problem.”

Marijuana is asked every day if she does drugs or drinks alcohol – which she doesn’t and never has.

She is often asked if she also drinks Pepsi – which she doesn’t.

She said: “People don’t believe me when I say I’ve never smoked – because ‘there’s no way someone called Marijuana isn’t a smoker.’

“I get hit by the marijuana companies, but I wouldn’t do anything with them if it wasn’t centered around education.

“I’m just high on life.”