Carroll County, MD Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

059 of the Carroll County zoning code sets three separate distance buffers a licensed cannabis dispensary must clear before it can locate. 5 of the Education Article, as well as from a pre-existing playground, recreation center, library, public park, or place of worship. The second, under (A)(2), is a half-mile separation from any other licensed cannabis dispensary, which spaces retail cannabis locations out across the county rather than letting them cluster. The third, under (B), is a 100-foot buffer specifically from the property line of any residential zoning district, measured from the dispensary structure itself.

060 explains how these distances are measured: from the nearest point of the structure requiring separation to the nearest point of the structure, or in the residential case the lot boundary, from which separation is required, and for multi-tenant buildings the measurement runs from the perimeter of the cannabis use itself rather than the whole building. 059(E) bars variances from any requirement in the section, so a site that falls short of the 500-foot, half-mile, or 100-foot thresholds cannot seek Board of Zoning Appeals relief the way other zoning distance requirements can.