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Life & Times Transcript
09/19/06 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- Should California farmers be allowed to grow hemp? Is it a cash crop or a gateway to pot? Tyler Hoff>> "Hemp enriches and revitalizes the soil, cleans the air and environmentally benefits the community." Walt Allen>> We can call it hemp all day. We can call it industrial hemp. It is a marijuana plant. John Roulac>> You can smoke the size of a telephone pole and you're not going to get high. Val Zavala>> And then, they once owned much of Los Angeles. Now their land is lost along with their way of life. These stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> It looks just like marijuana except you can't get high. It is hemp and, for the first time in California, it may be legal to grow hemp. That's because the state legislature passed a law allowing farmers -- not individuals -- but farmers to grow industrial hemp. So what is hemp and why is it so controversial? Hena Cuevas has our story. Hena Cuevas>> Three times a week, a shipment arrives at this warehouse in Ventura County. It's carrying a product that's legal to grow in Canada, but if you grow it here in California, you could end up in jail. It's hemp. John Roulac>> "I'm thinking that Customs actually cuts this. That's the reason why they're like higher up." Hena Cuevas>> John Roulac owns a company that specializes in food products made from the controversial plant. Why the controversy? Well, because hemp is a close cousin of the marijuana plant and people tend to get them confused. John Roulac>> People think hemp is marijuana and it's actually a fallacy. Hemp and marijuana are the same plant family, but different variety, a completely different variety. It's just like there are Chihuahuas and German Shepherds. Hena Cuevas>> So just to be clear, no matter how much I boil, crush, or smoke hemp, I'm not going to get high? John Roulac>> Exactly. You can smoke the size of a telephone pole and you're not going to get high. Hena Cuevas>> He's got hemp oil and shakes and hemp seeds which can be added to soups and salads. And what is the nutritional benefit of this particular grain? John Roulac>> The nutritional benefit is that it's rich in protein and also in -- Hena Cuevas>> -- it tastes like almonds. John Roulac>> Yeah, it tastes like almonds. How do you like the flavor? Hena Cuevas>> Good. It tastes like almonds. As it stands, it's illegal to grow hemp in the United States, so Roulac has to import it. This hemp comes from Canada where it was legalized in 1999. It's also allowed in thirty other countries. For years in the United States, hemp was perfectly legal, but in the 1930s, the plant was classified as a drug. John Roulac>> And the government has been spending a lot of time to try to ban hemp foods and not allow us to grow hemp, so we've had a lot of obstacles to overcome. But now hemp foods are legal and sales are growing over fifty percent a year in the United States. Hena Cuevas>> But a law passed last month, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, will change that. If the governor signs it, hemp cultivation would be legal in California. John Roulac>> It's a real win-win situation. Farmers can have a new crop to grow. There's going to be new business opportunities. And it's going to be good for us because it's going to save on our manufacturing and trucking costs. Hena Cuevas>> So if hemp is such a wonderful plant and it provides so many benefits, why is it that some are against having farmers grow it? Well, opponents to any kind of legislation, mostly law enforcement agencies, say that their biggest fear is that fields that are used to grow hemp could also be used to grow and hide marijuana. That's because, to the untrained eye, both plants look the same. The difference is in the levels of TCH, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive element that gives you a high. Walt Allen>> We can call it hemp all day. We can call it industrial hemp. It is a marijuana plant. Hena Cuevas>> Walt Allen is with the California Narcotics Officers Association. His group is opposed to any bill that would allow the growing of this crop. Walt Allen>> So we think that the whole reason for this hemp bill is to move towards the elicit cultivation of marijuana to a larger degree. Hena Cuevas>> So this bill would be, in a way, kind of opening the door, you believe, to the legalization of marijuana later on? Walt Allen>> It really opens up Pandora's Box and right now we barely have enough law enforcement personnel to deal with the eradication efforts now. We see it compounded by trying to determine what's hemp and what's not. Hena Cuevas>> But supporters of the bill say that police in other countries are able to tell the difference. John Roulac>> I think it's actually an insult to American intelligence communities, American police officers, to say that somehow American police officers aren't smart enough, compared to Canadian police officers or English or French or Chinese. Law enforcement here is very well trained. It's more of a, I guess I would say, political issue. Hena Cuevas>> But Allen, who worked as an undercover narcotics officer for twenty-five years, says it's not that simple. Walt Allen>> I hate to use the word hemp because all you're talking about is marijuana that has a one or less percent of THC in it. Hena Cuevas>> And you were a narcotics officer, so taking a look at these two pictures, are you able to tell the difference between which one is the marijuana plant and which one is the industrial hemp? Walt Allen>> No, because here, as I said earlier, they're both marijuana. Industrial hemp is simply less THC content. Hena Cuevas>> And it would also require an additional level of training for officers to be able to distinguish the slight discrepancies? Walt Allen>> No, I don't think you can do all the training in the world. You're going to have to send this out to the lab and have them test it. Hena Cuevas>> And that's why there is a provision in the bill. Anyone growing industrial hemp would have to obtain, prior to harvest, a lab test to determine the THC in the crops. That, says Allen, means more work for officers. Walt Allen>> You're going to have law enforcement officers out there trying to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in the back yard of someone's home or in some field and it's going to be extremely difficult. Hena Cuevas>> But in the bill, back yard cultivation is prohibited. Supporters point to the manufacturing benefit. In Europe, carmakers use hemp to make doors or building materials, basically any product made out of petroleum. It's also a crop requiring no pesticides. Tyler Hoff>> "Hemp enriches and revitalizes the soil, cleans the air and environmentally benefits the community." That's what this is about. Hena Cuevas>> Part of the problem is the stigma around hemp. Twenty-two year old Tyler Hoff lives in Costa Mesa. He's working to dispel myths surrounding hemp. He holds Hemp Aware parties similar to Tupperware parties where he presents hemp products. Tyler Hoff>> Not only will farmers benefit because of economics, but all the hemp companies in California will benefit because we won't have to outsource and spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on importing all these products. Hena Cuevas>> But hemp hasn't been as profitable as expected for Canadian farmers. According to Canada's Department of Agriculture, hemp production peaked in 1999, but has sharply declined since then from thirty-five thousand acres when it was legalized to just nine thousand acres in 2004. Growers say that there's been an oversupply due mainly to little demand from the United States. Walt Allen>> For them to say that it's going to be a boom to economics, show me the proof. There has been no proof that it's going to be a cash crop of any kind here in California or anywhere else. Hena Cuevas>> Legal or illegal, hemp has been a part of America for centuries. Hemp fibers were used to make covered wagons and sails for ships. Even the Declaration of Independence is written on paper made out of hemp. John Roulac>> It's still a small market, but acres are growing rapidly and the higher oils go up, the more interest there is in hemp as a renewal resource for both building materials and a replacement for plastic. Hena Cuevas>> But will it be a part of our future? That depends on whether the economic benefits of hemp will outweigh the additional burden of policing it. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times. Val Zavala>> So do you think the governor should sign the hemp bill into law? Let us know what you think. Go to kcet.org and click on the Life and Times Blog. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> It started with a sermon two years ago during the presidential election and now the IRS is targeting a church in Pasadena. It is All Saints Episcopal Church and the question is, did they cross a political line? The IRS is now coming after them for financial records, newsletters and emails. But as Hena Cuevas tells us, this church is not an easy pulpit to bully. Hena Cuevas>> When Reverend George Regas sat down last October to write his Sunday sermon, he never imagined his words would attract the attention of the IRS and make national news. Rev. George Regas>> I had worked hard on it and it was interesting and it had a powerful message about peace and about poverty. Hena Cuevas>> It was just two days before the 2004 presidential election, a bitter battle between President George Bush and Senator John Kerry. Regas, who is retired, was invited as a guest speaker at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, a prominent liberal church. So on October 31, 2004, he delivered the sermon "If Jesus Debated Senator Kerry and President Bush". Rev. George Regas>> "Kerry and Bush debates around three hugely important issues: ending war and violence, eliminating poverty and holding tenaciously to the hope." Rev. George Regas>> I've certainly engaged the president before. I've engaged the war issues before, but I've never had this kind of clear confrontation with the IRS. Hena Cuevas>> Yes, the Internal Revenue Service. Eight months after delivering the sermon, All Saints received this letter from the IRS. In it, the tax collection agency stated "We believe it is necessary to resolve questions concerning your involvement in activities which may constitute political campaign intervention." Churches are allowed to support or oppose ballot propositions or speak out on issues, but they cannot endorse a particular candidate. If they do, they risk losing their tax-exempt status and may have to pay back taxes. Reverend Ed Bacon is the current pastor at All Saints. How surprised were you when the church received the letter from the IRS? Rev. Ed Bacon>> Oh, I was very surprised. It was the last thing that I would expect for the IRS to come in and say that we were guilty of campaign intervention. It's something that we're so very careful about. Hena Cuevas>> According to the letter, it was an article in the Los Angeles Times that brought the sermon to the attention of the IRS. The letter refers to the Times article saying the sermon "delivered a searing indictment of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, criticism of the drive to develop more nuclear weapons and described tax cuts as inimical to the values of Jesus." If Regas's sermon did indeed endorse a specific candidate, the IRS could take away All Saints' tax-exempt status. Ed McCaffery>> Here we have the big bad IRS cracking down on a church for what seemed to be political reasons. Hena Cuevas>> Ed McCaffery is a Professor of Tax Law at USC. He says churches have the right to speak out during an election as long as they stick to issues, but not candidates. Ed McCaffery>> So the line in the sand, as it were, is between general political discussions or participation and candidate-specific actions or endorsements. Hena Cuevas>> Regas and Bacon say they are aware of what the law states, especially during an election period. Rev. Ed Bacon>> I've been observing this law for my entire professional life. It's always been very, very clear. There is a very strong boundary that is there for us, that guides us. Rev. George Regas>> "But let me make this statement to relieve some of the anxiety which some of you bring today. One, Jesus wins. . . I don't intend to tell anyone how to vote." Hena Cuevas>> This isn't the first time All Saints Church has found itself in the middle of a national controversy. In the 1970's, at the height of the Vietnam War, a sermon given by George Regas against the war made national headlines when it was published in the Los Angeles Times. Also in the 1970's, Regas was behind the national movement for the ordination of women into the Episcopal Church. Rev. Ed Bacon>> And this church has stood with gay and lesbian people who wanted full inclusion in the church and in the sacramental life of the church, so we're not unaccustomed to controversy. Hena Cuevas>> So All Saints hired a Washington, D.C. law firm to handle their case. The first thing they did, according to Bacon, was answer an initial set of questions submitted by the IRS. But the agency sent them a second questionnaire, wanting more information. Why didn't they feel it was enough? Rev. Ed Bacon>> They're staying with this notion of implication and that's simply not good enough for us because the regulations are clear that it's about explicit endorsement. Hena Cuevas>> Because this is an ongoing investigation, the IRS isn't talking. McCaffery, who has read the sermon and the IRS's letter, says the law specifically prohibits actions, not just words. Ed McCaffery>> Have you used taxpayer money to advance a particular candidate in a particular election? Have you coordinated directly with the campaign for a particular candidate? Have you used the coercive power of the church threatening excommunication if you don't vote in a certain way? Hena Cuevas>> All Saints Church is not the only one that has received a notice from the IRS. About thirty other churches nationwide have as well. Ed McCaffery>> We really don't know if this is politically motivated with a small "p" and the churches that are being investigated are disproportionately anti-administration, anti-Bush, liberal social justice churches. We don't know that or not. Rev. Ed Bacon>> If a preacher is afraid to say what his or her conscience is telling them what the spirit of God is saying to them and they are afraid that the IRS might be listening in and come down on them because of something that the IRS thought was an implication, that's quite chilling to a preacher. Hena Cuevas>> Reverend Bacon says he's received support from both liberal and conservative churches. As for Regas, after all the controversy, the only thing he says he would do differently is deliver his 2004 election season sermon with a lot more passion. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times. Val Zavala>> Many of us think of California history as starting after World War II when Route 66 brought millions of Americans out to the Golden State and we forget about the first half of the century when thousands of acres were owned by Mexican ranchers, the original Californios. Well, in the 1910s and 1920s, they lost their land and, along with it, a way of life. This is the era that Theresa Chavez chose as the setting for her played called "They Shoot Mexicans, Don't They?" Chavez is the artistic director for About Productions which produces original collaborative theater work. I met her at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park where the play is being performed. So you drew from your own family history to create this production and these are your ancestors? Theresa Chavez>> These are my ancestors. This is my great-grandmother here. They had one of the fifty-plus ranchos in Los Angeles, twenty-nine thousand acres. Val Zavala>> Her ancestors' land encompassed what is today the heart of Los Angeles, Union Station, downtown and Olvera Street. Theresa Chavez>> They retained that until it became the United States and then they had to start parceling it off, as many California families had to, in order to survive because this barter economy became a cash economy. In order to survive, they had to start selling things off and they had to sue the United States government. They were forced to sue the United States government to retain the property which, of course, they weren't able to do. The courts were in English and they spoke Spanish. So by the turn of the last century, my family had fourteen acres left. Val Zavala>> So your family owned twenty-nine thousand acres that encompassed what is currently the heart of Los Angeles? Theresa Chavez>> Right, and then south and the east of downtown. Val Zavala>> If they had been able to keep that (laughter). Theresa Chavez>> Oh, I know. My husband reminds me all the time. Val Zavala>> You wouldn't be here right now (laughter). Theresa Chavez>> No, I'd be in Paris somewhere, I suppose (laughter). Val Zavala>> In the 1920s, her family's legacy took a different form. She had an uncle, a dashing man named Raul de Ramirez. He was an expert dancer who had his own troupe. He also became a dance teacher and coach for the budding movie industry. Was he like the Latino Arthur Murray (laughter)? Theresa Chavez>> Yes, exactly. This kind of gives you an idea. Here's a Latino Arthur Murray. Val Zavala>> Is that him? Theresa Chavez>> This is him. This is his dance card. Val Zavala>> Look at him. Dashing. Theresa Chavez>> He's selling himself. He's selling his history. Come dance with me. I'm authentic kind of thing. Val Zavala>> And he was. Theresa Chavez>> And he was. I love this one. Tango dance exhibition in ballroom dance, creation of Raul de Ramirez, Spanish dance director to movieland. Val Zavala>> His timing was excellent. In the 1930s, Hollywood became infatuated with the Latin style. [Film Clip] Theresa Chavez>> They call it a Latin invasion where, you know, Latins are everywhere. Actors wanted to be Latin. They would change their English-speaking names, Anglo-speaking names, to Spanish surnames so they could get work in Hollywood. Anyone that had any kind of color or had a little thin moustache for the men passed (laughter). Val Zavala>> But as is typical of Hollywood, depictions of Mexicans, especially in the silent films, was stereotyped. [Film Clip] Val Zavala>> Besides Hollywood, there was another phenomena that gave millions of Americans what was often their only impression of California history. It was the Mission Play recreated on film for Theresa's play. It tells the story of Father Junipero Serra, the founding of the Spanish Missions and their eventual decline. The Mission Play ran in southern California for three decades. Theresa Chavez>> It opened in 1912 and went into the 1940s. And by the late 1920s, two and a half million people had seen it. It became a really -- just like the Ramona Pageant, it became a tourist attraction, so anyone that came to Los Angeles, it was like now where you would bring your families to Disneyland. Everyone went to see the Mission Play. Val Zavala>> It's against this backdrop in the 1920s that Theresa's play unfolds. A Mexican American mother and her two grown children are each struggling to contend with dramatic changes. Theresa Chavez>> In the play, one of the main characters is struggling with that, that he's being forced to retain a certain type of tradition and he wants to be a contemporary artist. How do you honor the past and yet retain a sense of your own contemporary identity as well? Val Zavala>> In this scene, the mother meets a movie producer who goes to her dance studio looking for a Latin number. [Film Clip] Val Zavala>> Together with clips from silent films, music and dance, and the story of two generations, the play captures the Mexican American experience as the old encounters the new. But to people like Theresa's mother, one of nine children, the 1930s marked the end to a way of life. Theresa Chavez>> She lived that life. She lived in that era. She was born in 1921 and she tells stories about what it was like to talk to the family members who could say they really were Californios. I feel like, in a way, I'm a Californio in name only. Val Zavala>> "They Shoot Mexicans, Don't They?" attempts to recount a chapter in Latino history, a chapter that has been distorted by Hollywood or, worse yet, forgotten. Theresa Chavez>> A lot of people move to the region and don't really understand that there is this rich history and that they have a sense that maybe the history started, you know, in 1945 after World War II. There are a lot of historians now that I believe are really trying to bring that history forward. You had a lot of this history that was either buried or misused or misappropriated or romanticized and they're going back and unearthing that history. That's partially what this piece does is the unearthing of the past and presenting it as a gift to our audiences so that they can be much more aware of where they are and who lives with them. Val Zavala>> "They Shoot Mexicans, Don't They?" is playing at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park through October 1. For information, go to their website. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> The Los Angeles Zoo has two new inhabitants, Snow Leopard cubs. Their names are Tom and Jerry and, as you'll see, they can charm the spots off a leopard. Danielle Fogel>> My name is Danielle Fogel. I'm an animal keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo. It's pretty exciting. We haven't had Snow Leopard cubs in about ten years or over ten years, I should say. The mother is Gail and the boys are Tom and Jerry. There are a hundred seventy in North American zoos, but they're very endangered. Their habitat is dwindling, so we do know their numbers are dwindling. They're from all over Central Asia, so Nepal, Tibet, China, I think they used to be in certain parts of Siberia, but their habitat has dwindled a lot. They're very uniquely adaptive to the climate that they live in. They have the longest tail of any feline and they use it to wrap around their face in the winter and cover their mouth and nose. [Film Clip] Danielle Fogel>> All zoos, to be accredited, you have to participate if you have an animal in the species survival plan and they're the ones that decide who gets to breed. They make the recommendations, this male, this female. They tell you, well, you get to breed this year or this year you don't get to breed, so they regulate it. When the babies are born, it's great and everyone is excited, but at some point, they have to find homes for them. They're seasonal breeders, so they only breed between November and about February, so you get one shot basically once a year. I think it's a hundred eighty-four days gestation. They're usually born about May. I believe that they're still in the den. It's still pretty cold. I mean, they're from the Himalayas, so it doesn't get warm until pretty well into the summer up there. That's why they are seasonal breeders, so that when they're born, there's some game out. You know, mom can hunt and feed them pretty well. Most cats are loners, except for lions. They don't hunt in groups. The mother will hunt with her cubs and the males and females, during breeding season, will pair together and they may hunt together for a while, but in general, they live alone. They're the nicest of all cats, to me. If you ever met a tiger, it's very ferocious, I'm going to eat you kind of thing. These guys are a lot calmer. Their very calm, quiet mother, Gail, especially. She's a very nice cut. She's really good with her kittens. They're very independent as they've gotten a little bit older. They're very playful and they've brought out the playfulness in mom. She didn't use to run around and stalk as much as she does. Once they've been out here, she's teaching them. She'll run and stalk some imaginary something and they'll run after her and pounce. They play with her a lot and she entices the play in them too. It's great. [Film Clip] Val Zavala>> And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. 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