State v. Brunson, 204 N.C. App. 357 (Jun. 1, 2010)

Holding that the trial court committed plain error by admitting the testimony of the State’s expert chemist witness that the substance at issue was hydrocodone, an opium derivative. The State’s expert used a Micromedics database of pharmaceutical preparations to identify the pills at issue according to their markings, color, and shape but did no chemical analysis on the pills. Note that although this decision was issued before the North Carolina Supreme Court decided Ward (discussed above), it is consistent with that case.