Akron, OH Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 500 feet
- Protected uses
- school, church, library, playground, park
- Measurement standard
- Ohio Admin. Code 3796:5-5-01
- Buffer checked at
- initial licensing and relocation
- Violation penalty
- first-degree misdemeanor
Summary
Akron bars a medical marijuana cultivator, processor, dispensary, or testing lab from locating within five hundred feet of a school, church, public library, playground, or park. City Code § 111.631(C)(8) requires the license application to include a map proving the site clears that buffer before any local license issues.
A location area map of the area surrounding the proposed medical marijuana entity that establishes that the parcel of real estate on which the proposed facility will be located is at least five hundred feet from the boundaries of a parcel of real estate having situated on it a prohibited facility, as measured under Chapter 3796:5-5-01 of the Ohio Administrative Code. ... "Prohibited facility" means a school, church, public library, public playground, or public park.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64).
Full Breakdown
630(L) defines a "prohibited facility" as a school, church, public library, public playground, or public park. 631(C)(8) turns that definition into a siting rule: an applicant for a local provisional license must submit a location area map of the area surrounding the proposed medical marijuana entity establishing that the parcel is at least five hundred feet from the boundaries of a parcel containing a prohibited facility, with distance measured under Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3796:5-5-01. 631(I)(4) any time an already-licensed entity applies to move to a new address, so the buffer is checked both at initial licensing and at every relocation.
631(B), effectively blocking construction or occupancy at a noncompliant address before the business ever opens. 464, so a parcel must clear both the conditional-use zoning check and the five-hundred-foot distance check to qualify.
Violations & Fines
Operating or maintaining a facility that fails the five-hundred-foot buffer is treated as a licensing failure: the License Clerk can deny the provisional license outright, or revoke an operating license already issued if the entity is later found in the buffer zone, since revocation is available for engaging in any act prohibited by the chapter. Violating §§ 111.630 or 111.631 is a first-degree misdemeanor under § 111.999, and appeals from a denial or revocation go to a court of competent jurisdiction under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2506.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can a marijuana dispensary be to a school in Akron?
Does the Akron marijuana buffer apply only to dispensaries?
What happens if a licensed marijuana business later ends up inside the 500-foot buffer, say after a new school opens nearby?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Akron
Compare Akron to another location·View the Ohio cannabis regulations overview
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