HIGH-RANKED POT EXPERT BRINGS KNOWLEDGE TO BR

The Internet is full of stories about unusual careers. You can read about
those with so-called weird jobs such as a certified fire walking
instructor, a magician's assistant and the person who takes care of the
elephants' toenails for the circus.

I didn't need to go online to meet this one: an expert in marijuana
cultivation.

At the end of July, Chris Conrad of El Cerrito, Calif., brought his
expertise and a backpack of notes to U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge.

Conrad has written books, founded organizations and designed a museum in
efforts to promote the legalization of marijuana for medical and other uses.

His Internet site -- http://www.chrisconrad.com -- lists his
accomplishments: exploits that got him ranked 10th in 1999 on High Times
magazine's top 25 "living legends of pot" behind honorees such as Tommy
Chong, Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson.

In Baton Rouge, he was expected to testify on behalf of Juan Lopez, a
Prairieville man accused of growing bundles of pot with plans to sell it in
Louisiana and Florida.

Lopez, 47, 39136 Germany Road, faced up to 20 years in prison if
prosecutors could prove he either grew the marijuana or possessed it with
the intent to distribute.

The potential penalty would escalate to 5 to 40 years in prison if
prosecutors could prove Lopez had more than 100 plants.

Conrad, 52, offered a favorable plant count and could supposedly bolster
defense attorney Mario Gaudamud's contention that Lopez's harvest was
consistent with personal, rather than commercial, use.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Ennis and Robert Piedrahita spent the first
day of trial bringing evidence of what investigators have described as the
most-elaborate indoor marijuana garden they had ever seen in the area.

The hydroponics operation had special lamps and reflective walls to bathe
the plants in intense light. Piping brought water and nutrients to the soil.

Carbon dioxide was added to the air to stimulate growth. A filter of moth
balls would clean the odor before it escaped the house, they explained.

Day two of the trial brought Gaudamud's turn to call witnesses, and Conrad
took the stand wearing a suit and his gray hair tied in a ponytail.

Piedrahita cross-examined Conrad about his expertise to determine whether
it included illegal cultivation and distribution as well as legal
cultivation in places such as Holland and Switzerland.

Conrad explained that he reviewed police reports, interviewed both
investigators and defendants, listened to trial testimony and witnessed
many illegal sales up close.

With Conrad's credentials established, Gaudamud went for the question the
witness was being paid about $2,000 by the government-funded defense to
answer: Was Lopez's marijuana crop consistent with personal use?

Conrad's surprise answer: no.

Just the flowers of the plants -- the most-valuable and narcotic portion --
would amount to a crop of 18 pounds, Conrad estimated. The garden could
produce close to four crops a year, he added.

"I would classify that as being more than most individuals could consume,"
he said.

A U.S. marijuana smoker might use 3 pounds a year, Conrad explained.

Prosecution witnesses said at half a gram a cigarette, a pound a year was
more realistic.

They added the entire plant is ground up for a cigarette, not just the
flower, meaning one of Lopez's crops could produce more than 100 pounds of
smokes.

Conrad conceded that he had provided Gaudamud a different harvest estimate
prior to trial -- maybe 6 to 8 pounds -- but the witness later discovered a
miscalculation.

Jurors found Lopez guilty and accepted the videotaped count of 103 plants
by investigators, instead of Conrad's total of 91.

While Lopez remains jailed while waiting sentencing, Conrad has returned to
California with a new experience for his resume. In addition to having been
qualified as an expert witness in several California courts and one in
Oklahoma, Conrad can say he's filled such a role in Louisiana as well.

Just don't ask Lopez how it went.

Advocate staff writer William Taylor covers federal court.