DEA does not publish one cannabis crime statistic. It publishes enforcement counts: plants eradicated, grow sites found, seizures, and arrests from DEA-led cases. Federal prosecution counts come from the US Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice. State and local arrest counts come from the FBI.
DEA and Cannabis Law Changes: What You Need to Know
What DEA counts
Cannabis is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812. DEA enforces that schedule. Its public cannabis numbers come from three sources.
- The Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program, which funds state and local plant removal.
- Seizure totals in DEA annual reports and press releases.
- Arrest counts from DEA field divisions and task forces.
Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program
DCE/SP is the DEA program that reports cannabis counts each year. It covers 50 states. Reports list outdoor plants eradicated, indoor plants eradicated, grow sites, weapons seized, arrests, and property seized.
Reported plant totals fell after 2010. Some years listed millions of plants. Recent reports list fewer. DEA does not post one table with every year. The figures sit in yearly reports and budget documents.
Arrests
DEA officers make cannabis arrests. Those arrests are a small share of all US cannabis arrests. FBI data show state and local police make most of them. Federal possession arrests are rare. Federal cases tend to involve trafficking, distribution, or cultivation.
DEA does not publish a cannabis-only arrest table. Arrest counts appear in DOJ reporting and in court data.
Federal prosecutions
The US Sentencing Commission counts federal cannabis cases by fiscal year. Case counts dropped from FY2012 to the early 2020s. In FY2012 marijuana trafficking was one of the largest federal drug case types. It is now a small share. Read exact counts from USSC sourcebooks.
Limits on DEA enforcement
Since 2014, appropriations riders bar the Department of Justice from spending funds to stop states from carrying out medical cannabis laws. The rider is known as Rohrabacher-Farr, later Blumenauer-McClintock. It does not legalize cannabis. It limits spending. DEA still enforces the Controlled Substances Act in other cases.
Convenience and where enforcement lands
Eradication counts do not track legal status alone. States without licensed retail, such as Kentucky and Tennessee, rank high in DCE/SP plant counts. California ranks high as well, because illegal cultivation continues there. Licensed retail has not removed the illicit grow market. DEA counts plants, not storefronts.
Data limits
DEA figures count enforcement actions. They are not estimates of cannabis crime. Totals move with budget, staffing, and state law. A drop in eradicated plants can mean fewer plants or fewer agents. DEA does not break out cannabis arrests by state. Treat one year as a count, not a trend.