iPhone Refuses to Fix Misspelled “Marijuana”

The Daily Beast reports their findings that iOS 6, the newest iPhone operating system from Apple, refuses to correct certain words as part of its new spell check feature, including variations of the word ‘marijuana’. The spell check software, which is separate from the phone’s autocorrect feature, underlines misspelled words and offers correction suggestions who tap the underline. But the Daily Beast’s tests reveal that certain controversial words, including ‘marijuana,’ will not be offered as corrections even in cases of slight misspellings.

The revelations come out in the midst of a broader controversy for the California-based computer company, which has already faced charges of censorship around its perennial insistence to keep its app store ‘PG-13.’ And while some censored words are pure vulgarities, others, like ‘marijuana,’ have a host of legitimate applications in adult discourse – especially in light of new research suggesting powerful therapeutic potential for the much-aligned plant.

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