NOT GUILTY PLEA IN EXOTIC DRUG CASE

Prunedale man says he grows khat as medicine

The first person in this country arrested for growing khat, a rare and
exotic stimulant, claimed on Thursday he was cultivating the leafy plant for
medicinal purposes.

Musa Ahmed Gelan, 40, a Prunedale convenience store owner, pleaded not
guilty in U.S. District Court in San Jose to a charge of manufacturing a
controlled substance.

His attorney, Donald Foley, said Gelan wants to fight the charge because he
was growing it to help control his diabetes. A legal resident of the United
States, Gelan immigrated from Yemen several years ago and was unaware the
plant was illegal, Foley said.

These people are from countries "that have laws against alcohol, but
occasionally chew khat," he said.

At the time of the raid on Gelan's property, Monterey County sheriff's
investigator Sgt. Terry Kaiser said there was evidence Gelan had distributed
the drug, which he said sells for $800 per kilogram on the street. He said
4,840 pounds of khat were seized from Gelan's house.

Foley denied the distribution allegation. "Not at any time was it furnished
for anyone else," he said.

The leafy, reddish khat -- pronounced "cot" -- is popular with people in
Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and the Middle Eastern country of Yemen. It's
used by stuffing wads of the leaves in your mouth and chewing throughout the
day. Users say it produces a mild euphoria.

Khat is illegal in the United States because, according to federal drug
laws, it contains an amphetamine-like substance in the same category as
heroin.

Foley said his client acquired the plants from khat growers around the
country for cultural and medicinal purposes.

"He had no idea anything was illegal about this," said Foley. "The plants
are part of his ethnic background."

Gelan was busted in September, when federal and state authorities raided his
quarter-acre field and seized more than 1,000 plants.

Drug enforcement officials said it was the first outdoor khat plantation
discovered in the United States.

Contains potent narcotic

When growing, or within 48 hours of harvesting, khat contains a potent
narcotic called cathinone, said Drug Enforcement Agency spokeswoman Evelyn
James.

"The fact that these plants were being grown and contained cathinone makes
it a felony," she said.

If convicted, Gelan could face up to 20 years in prison and up to a $1
million fine.

There is little precedent in this country in khat cases, and none for
cultivation.

Foley said Gelan sought his help because he represented the first California
resident to be arrested for khat possession. In that case, a Berkeley
businessman had a quantity of khat flown from New York to be used at his
daughter's wedding.

Federal agents followed the shipment from the East Coast to Berkeley and
arrested the man, whom Foley declined to name.

Foley said he and prosecutors were so unfamiliar with khat laws that they
were unsure how to proceed with the case. The man eventually pleaded guilty
to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance and received
no jail time or fine.

Other cases

Two years ago, Jeremy Rankine of London was caught smuggling 70 pounds of
khat through Pittsburgh International Airport. He pleaded guilty in a plea
bargain and was sentenced to less than a year in custody.

And in April, Mohamud Abdi, 33, of New York was arrested during a traffic
stop on the New Jersey Turnpike after state police found a suitcase with 100
pounds of khat in his car.

Sgt. Ron Kushner said that Abdi's charge of possession of a controlled
dangerous substance was downgraded because that khat had lost its potency.

"As the drug gets older, it becomes less illegal in New Jersey," he said.

Gelan's trial is expected to begin in March.

Checked-by: Don Beck