Cannabis is legal for medical or recreational purposes in the majority of U.S. states, but plant-related arrests still happen every day. Thousands of people also remain in prison for nonviolent cannabis charges. Curious how many people still get arrested for weed? The answer may surprise you.
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According to new federal data, there were over 218,000 cannabis-related arrests in 2025. Nearly one in four drug-related arrests were for the plant.
That’s a slight increase from 2024, when there were roughly 204,000 cannabis arrests nationwide. The numbers may also be underreported, since some local law enforcement agencies don’t submit all arrest data to the federal Crime Data Explorer.
Separately, cannabis was the most frequently seized specified substance in drug-related incidents, followed by amphetamines and methamphetamine, then cocaine.
According to NORML, approximately 92 percent of cannabis arrests were for low-level possession. Deputy Director Paul Armentano criticized the continued arrests in a statement.
“Low-level marijuana offenders, many of them younger, poor, and people of color, should not be saddled with an arrest, a criminal record, and with the lifelong penalties and stigma associated with it for engaging in behavior that is legally regulated in nearly half the states in this country,” Armentano said.
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Arrest patterns vary widely by state, reflecting a patchwork of cannabis laws that range from full adult-use legalization to strict prohibition and limited medical programs. Texas led the nation in cannabis arrests, with approximately 29,000 in 2025. Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin rounded out the top five. Both Texas and Georgia allow limited medical cannabis access, though their programs are relatively restrictive.
Cannabis arrests reached an all-time high of 870,000 in 2007. So while arrests have decreased as cannabis policies have relaxed, hundreds of thousands of people still face cannabis charges every year.
