Indiana – Smoke Master

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

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:30:07 +0000

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.

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Indiana Gov. Expresses Support for State Cannabis Law Reforms

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 03:06:17 +0000

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) has again signaled openness to medical cannabis reforms, Indiana Public Media reports. Indiana remains one of the few states that has not legalized cannabis for any reason.

“I’m kind of agnostic on that issue. But when you’ve got four states surrounding you, you’re probably going to have to address it.” — Braun via IPM

Braun, a former U.S. Senator, had made similar comments on the campaign trail. During his campaign for governor, Braun told the Chicago Tribune that “there a lot of groups – veterans and others – that really find beneficial use from” medical cannabis.

“It’s been cascading across the country,” Braun said at the time. “If the legislature takes it up, I’m going to be listening carefully and probably favorably disposed towards medical use of marijuana.”

Last February, state lawmakers rejected a bid by Safe and Regulated Indiana that would have legalized cannabis for adult use. A recent survey from Ball State University’s Bowen Center for Public Affairs, as outlined by IPM, suggests 60% of Hoosiers back the legalization of cannabis for either medical or adult use.

TG joined Ganjapreneur in 2014 as a news writer and began hosting the Ganjapreneur podcast in 2016. He is based in upstate New York, where he also teaches media studies at a local university.
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