Cannabis Arrests in Northwest Indiana Are Down Despite Legalization in Neighboring States

Cannabis arrests in Northwest Indiana counties that border Michigan and Illinois – both of which have legalized cannabis for adult use – fell between 2021 and 2025, NWI Times reports. In Lake, Porter, and La Porte counties, arrests for misdemeanor and felony cannabis charges totaled 1,272 in the first quarter of 2021 but were 734 by the fourth quarter of 2025. 

Cannabis arrests in the counties spiked to 1,742 during the second quarter of 2022 – the highest recorded during the time period – but dropped below 1,000 the following quarter, the analysis found. Arrests increased the following two quarters again, before falling below 1,000 again in the subsequent two quarters. In the fourth quarter of 2023, arrests fell to 666, but rose to 742 in the first quarter of 2024, before falling to 670 in the following quarter. 

The third quarter of 2024 saw the lowest levels of cannabis arrests across the three counties during the analysis period, at 468. The following three quarters saw three straight increases – to 734, 826, and 1,192, before decreasing again to 842 and then again to 734.   

Illinois permitted the sale of adult-use cannabis starting January 1, 2020, while Michigan launched its program in 2018. 

Local police departments accounted for the majority of the arrests, with 12,162. County Sheriff’s Departments arrested 7,736 people during the analysis period, while State Police recorded 1,466 arrests.   

Most of those arrested (11,872) were Indiana residents, while 3,690 of those arrested were from Illinois, and 4,582 were from other states.