Fort Collins, CO Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Section 15-475(a) sets three buffer rings around any proposed medical marijuana store location. Paragraph (1) keeps stores 1,000 feet from any private or public preschool, elementary, secondary, vocational, trade school, college, or university. Paragraph (2) applies the same 1,000-foot buffer to any public playground. Paragraph (3) sets a shorter 500-foot buffer around child care centers, places of worship or religious assembly, public parks, pools, or recreation facilities, and juvenile or adult halfway houses, correctional facilities, or substance abuse rehabilitation or treatment centers. Subsection (c) explains how the City measures these distances: a straight line from the nearest property line of the protected use to the nearest portion of the building or unit where the marijuana store would sit, not a walking or driving route.

The buffers apply at the time of the license application and to any proposed relocation of an existing license, per subsection (b). Subsection (e) grandfathers stores licensed before November 1, 2011, letting them relocate to the same parcel or renew without meeting the buffer criteria, as long as they reapply within ninety days of the application becoming publicly available. Fort Collins runs a nearly identical buffer scheme for retail (recreational) marijuana stores under § 15-615(a)(1)-(3), so the same 1,000-foot school and playground rule and 500-foot rule for the other protected uses apply whether the shop sells medical or recreational product.