Opinion ID: 2061227
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: While Participating in a Violation of Subsection 124.401(1)(e)

Text: We have concluded that defendants were in immediate possession or control of the firearms located in the bedroom. However, we must also determine whether defendants were in immediate possession or control of those firearms while participating in the manufacture of marijuana, the offense with which they were charged under section 124.401(1). Defendants argue that the district court erred by not completing the analysis under section 124.401(1)(e) because the court did not consider whether the possession or control of the firearms occurred while the defendants were participating in the manufacture of marijuana. Manufacture is defined as follows: [T]he production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion or processing of a controlled substance, either directly or by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container .... Iowa Code § 124.101(16). Defendants argue that because no evidence was introduced that they were participating in manufacturing activities when the marijuana plants were discovered, the district court incorrectly concluded that they were in immediate possession or control of the firearms while manufacturing marijuana. We note, however, that while the defendants may not have been planting or harvesting the plants when discovered, the definition of manufacture includes production and propagation as well, words which connote the mere growing of plants. We see no need for the State to prove that defendants were actively engaged in the planting or harvesting of the marijuana plants. No affirmative act on their part was necessary to establish that the manufacture of marijuana was occurring on the premises. The defendants admitted their knowledge of the growing facility in the basement. This admission, in addition to the evidence of a marijuana facility and live plants on the premises, is sufficient to support the district court's finding that the defendants were participating in the manufacture of marijuana. We also see no need to require as direct a connection between the drug offense and the immediate possession or control of a firearm as defendants suggest. The testimony of the paramedics and the police officer regarding the proximity of the weapons in the bedroom closet to defendants is sufficient to support the finding that defendants were in the immediate possession or control of a firearm while participating in a drug offense defined by section 124.401(1). The fact that defendants established a marijuana growing facility in their basement transformed their entire home into a facility for the manufacture of marijuana. Therefore, we conclude that the district court acted properly in applying the penalty-enhancement provision. AFFIRMED. All justices concur except LAVORATO and NEUMAN, JJ., who concur in result only.