Jacksonville Beach, FL Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Section 34-726 of the Land Development Code applies to medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facilities and to pharmacies. For dispensaries, subsection (a)(1), headed Proximity, sets one distance: a facility may not be located within five hundred (500) feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school. The sentence cites F.S. § 381.986(11)(c) as its basis. The buffer is measured to the real property of the school, which is the parcel, and not merely to the school building.

The section names schools only. It prints no separate distance from parks, churches, day cares or residential districts, and no other buffer appears in § 34-726(a). A separate buffer in the Code runs the other way: the standards for a certified recovery residence say it shall not be located within a radius of one thousand (1,000) feet of a medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility.

Subsection (a)(2) sets hours. A dispensing facility may not operate between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., as set forth in F.S. § 381.986(8)(f)(4). The section 34-300 definition limits the term to a facility or business operated by a medical marijuana treatment center or other organization holding all necessary state licenses and permits, where marijuana and products derived from it are dispensed at retail in accordance with all other applicable local, state and federal laws. The Planning and Development Department administers the Land Development Code, so proximity to a school is checked during zoning review.