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BISMARCK – The state’s highest court will weigh in on the legal limbo created last fall when a number of district judges ruled there wasn’t enough notice given when an emergency procedure was used to outlaw several synthetic drugs.

The North Dakota Supreme Court heard arguments last week on an appeal of a December ruling by Morton County District Court Judge Thomas Schneider that dismissed felony drug charges for selling the once-legal products against William Nickel, co-owner of Big Willies ATP in Mandan.

The order from Schneider followed the same logic as a Sept. 8 ruling from Cass County District Court Judge Wickham Corwin, saying the state’s Board of Pharmacy didn’t satisfy a legal requirement to give public notice when taking urgent steps to criminalize a substance.

For about three weeks in September, Corwin’s order prompted Fargo police to stop enforcing the new ban on the synthetics – which included supposed incense that when smoked mimics the effects of marijuana.

Read more at Inforum

FREMONT — Local businesses selling imitation marijuana marketed as incense, with names such as “Spice” and “K2,” could be in trouble — along with anyone possessing the substances — after a recent emergency change by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The synthetic drug, often sold in small, silvery bags, is a mix of herbs and spices that is typically sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, a psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Read more at the news messenger

In March, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration outlawed five chemicals found in so-called “fake pot” — vegetable matter sold as incense or potpourri that people smoke to get what they were calling a “legal high.”

Products like K2 and Spice were pulled from the shelves of stores that didn’t want to get in trouble with the police.

But the shelves weren’t empty long. New products, like K3, quickly took their place — different chemicals, same story.

Read more at Strongsville