Mandan businessmen face fake drug charges again

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Two Mandan businessmen who faced charges connected to imitation drugs in 2010 have been charged again.

Big Willies owners William Nickel and Ryan Zueger face a drug conspiracy charge, along with 23-year-old Cassandra Nickel. Authorities say she is William Nickel's sister and Zueger's girlfriend.

The three are accused of trying to mail a package to California containing a substance that mimics the effects of marijuana. They say they were returning the product to a supplier after learning it was illegal in North Dakota.

The Bismarck Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/Awgl2l) that William Nickel and Zueger had similar charges against them dismissed in 2010 by judges who said the public hadn't been adequately informed about a new state Board of Pharmacy rule making imitation drugs illegal.

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