The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled today that khat — an East African plant leaf that’s chewed and provides an amphetamine-like euphoria — is an illegal substance in the state.

Two men convicted of possessing the substance had appealed their case, arguing that it’s a plant — not an illegal mixture — and that banning it violates their rights of religious expression.

The court ruling notes that the law bans any mixture “having a stimulant effect on the central nervous system,” says the Star Tribune.

Police had found the two men with a leafy substance in their mouths, green tongues, and more than three pounds of khat in plastic sandwich bags.