Circuit Judge Mary Ann Gunn was aghast when she learned some of her drug court charges were smoking spice, a marijuana-like substance, in the parking lot of their treatment center.

“Everybody within 24 hours of that incident, all 184 of them, had to sign a contract that if they smoke spice, they’ll be terminated from the program,” Gunn said.

Having drug court participants smoking the herbal incense flies in the face of what the program is designed to achieve — keeping people sober, Gunn said. Even if it is legal, it violates the spirit of the program, she said.

“It affects the long-term sobriety of everyone in drug court. It violates what we’re all about,” Gunn said. “It’s ...