Pubdate: Thu, 02 Aug 2007
Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
Copyright: 2007 The Press-Enterprise Company
Contact:  http://www.pe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830
Author: Paige Austin and Sarah Gordon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Authors: Paige Austin And Sarah Gordon

CORONA MARIJUANA-SHOP OWNER PLEADS NOT GUILTY

The operator of a Corona marijuana dispensary pleaded not guilty 
Wednesday in federal court in Riverside to drug-trafficking charges 
that stem from a business he operated until it was raided three weeks ago.

Ronald Bradley Naulls faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of 
conspiracy to distribute marijuana and maintaining an establishment 
for the distribution of marijuana, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Stacy said.

Naulls, 26, is the owner of Healing Nations Collective, a Corona 
business Naulls describes as a medicinal-marijuana collective aimed 
at providing cannabis to patients with doctors' prescriptions for the drug.

The Riverside County native said he sees himself as an activist 
trapped in a legal battle between state and federal laws.

California voters legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996. But 
federal law prohibits possession of marijuana, and federal regulators 
have raided and shut down dispensaries such as the Corona collective.

Though Inland dispensaries have been raided over the past year, 
Naulls is one of the first owners to face federal drug-trafficking charges.

"I'm caught in a fight between the state and the federal government 
over the legality of this medicine," said Naulls in the courthouse hallway.

Naulls said he began studying the law surrounding medicinal marijuana 
when his chiropractor prescribed it to him a few years ago. He 
consulted attorneys and opened Healing Nations knowing he could end 
up facing criminal charges, he said.

However, Naulls said he regrets putting himself at the forefront of 
the legal battle over marijuana.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Naulls on July 17, 
then raided his home and shop as dozens of patients and employees 
protested outside the business. The raid and arrest were part of a 
series that took place in Hollywood, San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.

Naulls' wife, Anisha Naulls, also was arrested that day on suspicion 
of child endangerment. The couple, who have three young children, are 
suspected of having large quantities of marijuana in their Donatello 
Street home, Corona police Sgt. Jerry Pawluczenko said. The children 
were removed from the Naulls home by child protective services.

"If I would have known my kids would be taken away, I never would 
have done this," said Ronald Naulls. "I never thought this would happen."

On July 18, federal agents served a warrant and seized marijuana and 
other property at the Perris Tree of Life Collective, which federal 
officials said Naulls also operated.

Stacy declined to comment on whether charges would be filed in 
connection with the Perris raid, saying the investigation was 
continuing. A federal search warrant affidavit unsealed last week 
showed that since January, federal drug agents and Corona police were 
involved in an undercover surveillance of Naulls at his home, 
business and a Norco storage locker where the affidavit stated that 
marijuana was delivered and collected.
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