POT BUST LEAVES GROWER IN QUANDRY

Fort Collins Man Says He Had Right To Grow Confiscated Plants,
Patients Will Suffer Without His Home-grow And His Neighbors Are Now
Suspicious. Police Say Operation Is A Felony.

Stephen Minardi says he's done nothing wrong.

He says the 50 marijuana plants in his west Fort Collins home are
there to treat legal patients who can't afford to buy from
store-front medical marijuana centers.

Minardi, who, along with his wife, is facing felony charges of
cultivation and distribution, said the criminal case makes them "look
like massive Al Pacino drug dealers."

Fort Collins police have reason to doubt the Minardis' story. The day
before Thanksgiving, they served a search warrant and confiscated
processed marijuana and $3,400 cash at Minardi's home, where pictures
of his wife and three children line the walls of the living room.

As dispensaries close, police worry about the rise of larger
home-grow operations. They're allowed under state law, but lawyers
and law enforcement officials continue to deal with gray areas
regarding how much a person can grow, and even what constitutes a plant.

The laws leave people like Stephen Minardi in a precarious position.
"I'm proud of what I do," he said. "I take care of people."

As dispensaries close, will home grows rise?

In a room past the kitchen, two black, enclosed tents at Stephen and
Leslie Minardi's home contain marijuana plants. Documentation wasn't
sufficient to support the 213 plants found in the residence,
according to police.

"It's been a witch hunt for little people," said Minardi, 44, who has
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a medical-marijuana
license. "Now, all my neighbors look at me like I'm a friggin' drug lord."

As communities such as Fort Collins move to shut storefront centers,
Fort Collins Police Capt. Jerry Schiager said larger home-grows could
increase, and police will need to be watching for them.

"From a public safety standpoint, it's concerning," he said, adding
that neighborhood operations are a "huge target" for thefts,
robberies and environmental issues such as mold. "It doesn't belong
in a residential neighborhood in that scale."

While state law allows for one patient to have up to six plants, it
isn't clear on the limits of a residential, nondispensary grow
operation when factors such as caregivers and multiple residents are
taken into account. A city ordinance passed last year in Fort Collins
limits residential operations to 12 plants.

What is a plant?

Minardi said many of the "plants" in his home were closer to plant
matter - fresh-cut "clones" snipped off more mature plants and placed
in a tray.

"If it doesn't have a root, you can't count it as a plant," he said,
adding that this would be the same as counting seeds as plants.

Both Minardis' doctor's recommendations allow for up to 72 plants, in
part because Stephen Mindardi said his medical condition requires
that he ingest - rather than smoke - his medicine. He cares for a few
patients and has documents identifying them.

When police served the warrant, none of the plants were in the
flowering stage, he said.

The arrest-warrant affidavit filed in 8th Judicial District court for
Stephen and Leslie Minardi states the plants were "in various stages
of growth and production."

Sean McAllister, a Denver defense attorney with a focus on medical
marijuana, said a physician's recommendation for anything more than
six plants has led to "a major area of confusion."

He said courts can require proof that the higher amount was necessary.

"In some jurisdictions, the (district attorneys) will totally dismiss
that," he said. "In my experience, Fort Collins is renowned for this
attitude of coming in and busting people and saying, 'There's no such
thing as medical marijuana. You're under arrest.'"

Schiager said police come across a few home-grow operations monthly,
and there are "certainly a lot of people" with a small amount growing
in a basement or bedroom who comply with the law and are left alone.

But in a number of cases, the legality of a grow isn't immediately obvious.
"It's very gray, very nebulous, trying to enforce all that," Schiager said.

'I'm not screwing this up'

Police suspected the Minardis planned to sell marijuana through a
black-market deal in June, when they stopped three people from Kansas
near the King Soopers parking lot at Taft Hill Road and Elizabeth Street.

Two of the people had warrants. They were found to have $3,200 cash
and a mobile phone that showed a text-message exchange with Stephen
Mindardi's phone, identifying Minardi's number with an image of
marijuana buds.

"The text messages between Farner and Steve indicated that they were
there to meet, and Farner let Steve know he had arrived. Farner had
texted Steve that 'He was at the corner' and Steve said he was on his
way. However, Farner texted him back, saying that the 'Cops were
there and to hold on,' " according to the affidavit.
Minardi and his wife said they never left the house that night, and
Stephen Minardi was recovering from arm surgery a week earlier.

He said he could be connected with the people through a mutual
acquaintance, but he doesn't know who could have used his phone to
send the messages.

He said he never sold any marijuana to anyone who didn't have a card.

"I'm not screwing this up by selling it illegally," Minardi said.

Police previously observed the grow operation at the Minardi house
following a disturbance call. After pulling utility records and
observing growing equipment at the home, police served the warrant.

A .22-caliber rifle that was incapable of firing was confiscated, and
Stephen Minardi was later charged with possession of a weapon by a
previous offender. In 1987, while in Arizona, he was charged with
forgery, according to court records.

The Minardis turned themselves in the night of Dec. 29, shortly after
the arrest warrant was issued. They were booked and released on bond
from Larimer County Jail.

They face charges for cultivation of marijuana (greater than 30
plants), a class 4 felony punishable by two to six years in prison;
and distribution of marijuana (less than five pounds), a class 5
felony punishable by one to three years in prison.
He said the $3,400 in cash found at his home was from the recent sale
of an old Hyundai, some video-game equipment and two grow tents.

While he gives away about half of the marijuana to patients, he said
his income is mainly through social security and a small moving company.

Leslie Minardi is a licensed truck driver. She said that, after
having back surgery, she was unable to stomach pain killers.

The two said the cash taken by police was for Thanksgiving dinner and
Black Friday Christmas shopping. So, this year, they didn't buy their
children presents - but the kids chipped in and surprised them with a
tree and a few gifts.

"We are family-oriented people," Stephen Minardi said. "We scrape by
every month to pay rent on this house."

He said patients are now hesitant to stop by, but he wants to keep
providing for them.

The Minardis will be at the Larimer County Justice Center for a first
appearance at 8:30 a.m. Friday.