Monroe County, FL Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- School buffer distance
- 500 feet from school real property
- Waiver path
- Formal BOCC public proceeding
- Use classification
- Commercial retail, or institutional if in a health care facility
- Building/fire code
- Must meet Florida Building and Fire Prevention Codes
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Keys only, not Key West/Marathon/Islamorada
Summary
In the unincorporated Florida Keys (Monroe County), a medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility cannot locate within 500 feet of any public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school's real property unless the Board of County Commissioners approves the site at a public proceeding.
Medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility means a facility that dispenses low-THC cannabis, medical cannabis, and cannabis delivery devices; as provided in F.S. § 381.986. The dispensing facility is considered a commercial retail use, unless the dispensing facility is within a within a health care institution. When the dispensing facility is within a health care institution, then it is considered an institutional use. The dispensing facility may not be located within 500 feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school unless the location is approved through a formal BOCC proceeding open to the public at which the county determines that the location promotes the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community. Additionally, all dispensing facilities must comply with the Florida Building Code, the Florida Fire Prevention Code, or any local amendments to the Florida Building Code or the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
Full Breakdown
" The 500-foot measurement runs from the dispensing facility to the school's real property line, not from a building or entrance, so a large school parcel pushes the exclusion zone well beyond the schoolyard itself. Absent a BOCC waiver, that buffer is an outright siting prohibition inside the zone, not a conditional-use hurdle. The code also classifies the use itself: a dispensing facility is treated as a commercial retail use in most zoning districts, but if it sits inside a health care institution it is instead classified as an institutional use, which routes it through a different permitted-use table in the Land Development Code's land use district chapters.
Every dispensing facility, wherever it locates, must also comply with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code, including any local amendments the county has adopted to either code, before Monroe County Building Department will issue a permit for the space. 986 only for what counts as low-THC cannabis, medical cannabis, and cannabis delivery devices, the 500-foot buffer and the BOCC override process are Monroe County's own land use policy choices, not a restatement of state statute, and they apply only to the unincorporated Keys; Key West, Marathon, Islamorada, Key Colony Beach, and Layton administer their own dispensary siting rules within their separate municipal limits.
Violations & Fines
Monroe County Planning and Environmental Resources reviews siting during permitting; a dispensing facility application inside the 500-foot school buffer without prior BOCC approval at a public proceeding is denied a certificate of compliance and cannot open. A facility operating within the buffer without that approval is subject to code enforcement action before the county's Special Magistrate under chapter 8, which can impose fines and record a lien against the property until the use is brought into compliance or discontinued.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can a marijuana dispensary be to a school in unincorporated Monroe County?
Can the 500-foot school buffer be waived?
Does this buffer apply in Key West or Marathon?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monroe County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Monroe County to another location·View the Florida cannabis regulations overview
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