Marijuana arrests are driving driving the overall war on drugs in states where cannabis remains illegal, according to a new NORML analysis of FBI data. And most of those busts are for simple possession.
An examination of arrest data for 2024 in strictly prohibitionist states and those with limited medical cannabis programs revealed a continuation of drug war-era criminalization over marijuana—seemingly contradicting reform opponents’ repeated arguments that cannabis arrests are overstated.
NORML focused on 14 states in particular, analyzing arrest data submitted to FBI by local and state law enforcement. In five of those states (Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin), marijuana accounted for more than 50 percent of total drug-related arrests last year.
For the other nine states (Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming), cannabis constituted a plurality of more than 40 percent of drug-related arrests.
“Marijuana-related prosecutions remain the primary driver of drug war enforcement in those states where cannabis remains criminalized, whereas, with few exceptions, marijuana-related arrests fall precipitously in jurisdictions that legalize and regulate the adult-use cannabis market,” Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, said.
“The perpetuation of cannabis criminalization, and the vigorous enforcement of this policy by law enforcement
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