Canton, OH Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Section 1198.12(a)(1) sets the 500-foot buffer from a school, church, public park, public playground, public library, preschool, child day care facility, or other use established specifically for the activities of minors, tying the standard to the spacing requirements in Ohio Revised Code Sections 3796.09, 3796.10 and 3780 and the Ohio Administrative Code. Section 1198.12(a)(2) separately requires 1,000 feet between any two dispensaries, preventing clustering even where the 500-foot buffer from sensitive uses is satisfied. These buffers apply to medical marijuana facilities and adult use cannabis operators covering cultivation facilities, processing facilities, dispensaries and testing laboratories alike, and they are administered through the Board of Zoning Appeals' conditional use permit process under Section 1198.12.

When the Board reviews a cannabis conditional use application it also weighs the broader criteria carried over from Section 1198.03, including impacts on public safety, economic welfare, odor and required filtration, and any disproportionate concentration of cannabis facilities in the surrounding community, on top of the fixed distance rules. A conditional use permit for a cannabis facility expires if the petitioner has not obtained a state provisional license within one year of the Board's grant.