FAIRBANKS — A Fairbanks man has secured a court order to get his marijuana back from authorities at the Fairbanks International Airport after it was flagged by a federal transportation security officer and seized.
Frank Berardi picked up the pot from the Fairbanks International Airport Police and Fire Department on Monday after a judge ordered the cannabis to be returned, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
Berardi had been preparing to board a flight to Anchorage on July 27 when the Transportation Security Administration discovered 8 grams of marijuana in his carry-on luggage.
The marijuana was then turned over to local law enforcement.
Assistant airport manager Angie Spear said passengers are allowed to leave the marijuana with a friend or put it in their vehicle.
Berardi refused both options before boarding his flight, forcing police to confiscate the pot, said airport police Chief Sean Martines.
“We don’t seize property from people. We can’t. We have no power to. We took this at his request,” Martines said. “We gave him several different options of how to deal with it. It is a legal substance.”
Berardi wrote a letter asking to have his marijuana returned, but the request was denied.
Amy Welch, Berardi’s attorney, maintains that her client’s pot should have never been taken.
“We are talking about somebody’s lawfully owned property,” she said.
District Court Judge Matthew Christian issued an order last week that allowed Berardi to retrieve the marijuana. The state took the position that to return the cannabis without a court order would be a violation of federal law.
Berardi said paying the $4,000 in legal fees was worth the fight.
“I feel like I had a chance to exercise my constitutional rights and my rights under Alaska state law,” Berardi said.
