Boston, MA Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Article 8, Table A of the Boston Zoning Code lists Cannabis Establishment as Use Item No. 39B. The district table marks the use forbidden (F*) in Residential (R) and H (multifamily/local) districts, and a conditional use (C*) in Local Business (L), Business (B), Manufacturing (M), Industrial (I) and MER districts, all subject to the same footnote. That footnote sets the spacing standard: a cannabis establishment must be sited at least one-half mile, or 2,640 feet, from another existing cannabis establishment, and at least 500 feet from a pre-existing public or private school teaching kindergarten through grade 12.

Both distances run from the nearest lot line of the proposed establishment to the nearest lot line of the existing establishment or school, not from building to building or property center to center. A conditional use in an L, B, M, I or MER district requires a conditional use permit from the Board of Appeal under Article 6, and the resulting use approval "shall be applicable to the applicant only," meaning it does not run with the land or transfer automatically to a new owner or operator.

5(q), so the half-mile and 500-foot rule reaches Proposed Projects downtown as well as in the base zoning districts. Because Use Item 39B sits in the base citywide use table, it governs any lot in the city where cannabis retail, cultivation, or manufacturing is not separately barred by an overlay or neighborhood district article, and any applicant needs to confirm both district eligibility and the two distance triggers before filing for a conditional use permit.