Texas Cannabis LedgerAre Marijuana Arrest Records Increasing in Texas? 2023–2025
The reported statewide record count in 2025 was 4.8% higher than in 2024, and 5.4% higher than in 2023. Those comparisons describe the published series, not the reason it changed.
Are marijuana arrest records increasing or decreasing in Texas?
In this dataset, the total changed from 39,791 in 2024 to 41,701 in 2025: 4.8% higher. Relative to 39,550 in 2023, the latest count was 5.4% higher. These are reported DPS CCH records, not necessarily distinct arrests or people.
Here, “marijuana arrests” is search shorthand for marijuana-coded arrest records in Texas DPS Computerized Criminal History (CCH) tables. These aggregates do not identify unique people or unique arrest events, establish guilt, or measure cannabis use. The arrest year and source publication date are different: this analysis covers 2023, 2024, 2025, using the January 13, 2026 workbook.
Annual counts, rates, and coverage
| Year | Records | Change from prior year | Records per 100,000 | Counties with rows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 39,550 | Baseline | 128.8 | 250 |
| 2024 | 39,791 | 0.6% higher | 127.1 | 250 |
| 2025 | 41,701 | 4.8% higher | 131.5 | 250 |
A count measures the records represented in the table. A rate divides that count by the summed annual population of matching counties and multiplies by 100,000. Because both population and source coverage can change, the two measures need not move by the same percentage.
Does reporting coverage change the comparison?
250 counties have matching rows in both 2024 and 2025. Within that fixed set, totals changed from 39,791 to 41,701, 4.8% higher. This checks one source of changing coverage, but it cannot detect unreported records within a county or prove that reporting practices stayed constant.
What about the years before 2023?
The current analytical corpus starts in 2023. It cannot establish a trend since hemp legalization, a decade-long decline, or the effect of a particular law. Extending the series requires checking earlier source files and their definitions before combining them.
Follow the change locally
A statewide change can conceal different county patterns. Open a county’s annual table, compare five major counties, or separate possession-coded records from the overall count. None of these comparisons alone identifies a policy’s effect.
Definitions and limitations · Primary-source catalog · Download the underlying CSV