Green Gold Land
Two Chinese immigrants hope for a brighter future in the cannabis cultivation industry, but their journey unfolds bitterly.
In Asian culture, cannabis has always been a taboo drug that no one openly discusses. It continues to bear the stigma of being illegal under federal law. It came as a shock when we learned that increasing numbers of Asian immigrants were moving to states like Oklahoma and New Mexico to work in the cannabis industry.
Amidst the turbulent backdrop of the COVID pandemic and the surge in anti-AAPI hate crimes, many Chinese immigrants turned to the cannabis industry, hoping to find a better future growing marijuana. Asian-owned cannabis farms have started popping up across the country as more states opened up the legal market. While there are a lot of debates about the industry, there is little understanding about the experiences of immigrants working in the grow houses. We wanted to let them tell their story.
In “Green Gold Land,” we follow Ho Shi-Cheng, a cannabis grower, who travels to Oklahoma to teach other Chinese immigrants how to cultivate the plant. We also feature another immigrant from California, who lost his savings trying to get started in the business.
Many Asians we spoke to in Oklahoma have been in the United States for decades, but live on the economic margins and aren’t fluent in English. For them, the hope of riches in the cannabis industry hasn’t materialized. There are no winners in this story. And yet, we found perseverance even in the face of failure. This film is not only about cannabis. It is about immigrants struggling to have a shot at the American dream.
This documentary is the first part of our investigative reporting project in association with the Investigative Reporting Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. It was produced with the support of the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Amidst the turbulent backdrop of the COVID pandemic and the surge in anti-AAPI hate crimes, many Chinese immigrants turned to the cannabis industry, hoping to find a better future growing marijuana. Asian-owned cannabis farms have started popping up across the country as more states opened up the legal market. While there are a lot of debates about the industry, there is little understanding about the experiences of immigrants working in the grow houses. We wanted to let them tell their story.
In “Green Gold Land,” we follow Ho Shi-Cheng, a cannabis grower, who travels to Oklahoma to teach other Chinese immigrants how to cultivate the plant. We also feature another immigrant from California, who lost his savings trying to get started in the business.
Many Asians we spoke to in Oklahoma have been in the United States for decades, but live on the economic margins and aren’t fluent in English. For them, the hope of riches in the cannabis industry hasn’t materialized. There are no winners in this story. And yet, we found perseverance even in the face of failure. This film is not only about cannabis. It is about immigrants struggling to have a shot at the American dream.
This documentary is the first part of our investigative reporting project in association with the Investigative Reporting Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. It was produced with the support of the Fund for Investigative Journalism.