Harrison County, MS Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Standard buffer
- 1,000 ft from school, church or day-care
- Waiver buffer
- 500 ft with the institution's written waiver
- Dispensary spacing
- 1,500 ft from another dispensary
- Cultivation minimum site
- 2 acres in the A-1 District
- Governing provision
- UDC Art. IV, § 415 Table of Uses
- Adopted by
- Ordinance 2203HC037, Aug. 8, 2022
- Max fine
- $100 per offense, per day (§ 1409.05)
Summary
Harrison County's Unified Development Code keeps medical cannabis establishments, cultivation, processing, testing, dispensing, transportation, disposal and research facilities, at least 1,000 feet from the property line of any school, church or day-care, per the Table of Uses at UDC § 415. That distance drops to 500 feet only if the school, church or day-care itself grants a written waiver. Dispensaries additionally must sit 1,500 feet from each other. The rule governs unincorporated Harrison County, not Gulfport or Biloxi.
Cannabis Dispensaries: must be 1500 feet from another dispensary. All Medical Cannabis Establishments must be 1000 feet away from a School, Church or Day-Care or 500 feet if a waiver is granted by the School, Church or Day-Care.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
The buffer is written into the county's Table of Permitted and Conditional Uses rather than a stand-alone cannabis chapter. " The measurement runs from the establishment's main point of entry to the nearest property boundary line of the protected use, per the matching definition in Article II, § 203. Dispensaries carry an added spacing rule, 1,500 feet from another dispensary, so two retail cannabis outlets cannot cluster on the same corridor. Cultivation is further restricted by lot size: "Cannabis Cultivation Facility Tiers 1-6. Minimum site size in the A-1 District is 2 acres," fixing a hard acreage floor before a Tier 1 through Tier 6 cultivator can even apply.
All of these provisions trace to a single 2022 amendment, case 2203HC037, adopted August 8, 2022. Because this is a UDC use-table standard, not a stand-alone ordinance, an applicant clears it during the same site-plan and conditional-use review that any commercial building in the A-1, C or industrial districts goes through, there is no separate cannabis permit application. The rule binds only the unincorporated county; Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach, Pass Christian and D'Iberville each set their own cannabis siting standards under their own codes.
Violations & Fines
The UDC enforces siting violations through its general zoning-enforcement chapter, not a cannabis-specific penalty. Under § 1409.05.01, operating a medical cannabis establishment that violates the buffer is a misdemeanor prosecuted under Miss. Code § 17-1-27 et seq. Section 1409.05.02 lets the Zoning Officer instead pursue a cease-and-desist order, stop-order, injunction, mandamus, or a fine up to $100.00 per offense, and § 1409.05.03 makes each day a violation continues a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far must a medical cannabis dispensary sit from a school in Harrison County?
Can two cannabis dispensaries operate near each other in the county?
Is there a minimum lot size for a cannabis cultivation facility?
Does this buffer apply inside Gulfport or Biloxi?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Harrison County
Compare Harrison County to another location·View the Mississippi cannabis regulations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.