The indictment of a New Jersey man who was convicted of using a substance that at the time of his arrest fell under federal guidelines as illegal, though state authorities didn’t immediately add it to its list of controlled dangerous substances, was upheld by an appellate panel.

In March 2018, Joe D. Nicolas pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of 100 grams of a controlled dangerous substance called alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), also known as “flakka,” in violation of N.J.S.A. (2C:35-10 (a) (1).