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.