POT EXPERT PLEADS INNOCENT TO CHARGE WITH 10-YEAR TERM

OAKLAND -- To generations of marijuana enthusiasts, Ed Rosenthal is the
answer man, brimming with information on how to grow the best buds. To the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, he is just a big drug dealer.

Caught in a struggle between federal and state authorities who have been at
odds since California and other states legalized medical marijuana,
Rosenthal freely admits he was growing the 600 pot plants that agents
seized from an Oakland warehouse on Feb. 12.

On Monday, Rosenthal, 57, pleaded innocent to conspiring to grow 1,000 or
more marijuana plants, charges that carry a minimum 10-year prison term.

"The laws against medical marijuana put anyone with a conscience in the
middle of a major conflict," Rosenthal said. "You want to help the
patients, but the federal government says it's illegal."

But DEA spokesman Richard Meyer said, "Our job is to enforce the federal
drug statutes and we're committed to doing that."

Rosenthal used to write a column for High Times.