Adams County, CO Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- School/daycare buffer
- 1,000 feet
- Church/youth-center buffer
- 100 feet
- Residential buffer
- 50 feet
- Other hospitality business buffer
- 5 miles
- Enforcement
- Sheriff's Office & Code Compliance Officers
- Max fine
- $1,000/day, graduated by offense
Summary
Adams County's Marijuana Hospitality Business ordinance bars a licensed hospitality or retail-and-sales cannabis business from sitting within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare or playground, 100 feet of a church or youth center, 50 feet of residential property, or five miles of another such business anywhere in the unincorporated county.
A. No Hospitality Business shall be located within 1,000 feet of any existing public or private elementary, middle junior high or high school, state licensed daycare homes and daycare centers in existence as of the date of application (based on information provided to the County by the State of Colorado), playground, or public housing facility. B. No Hospitality Business shall be located within 100 feet of any existing house of worship, youth center, public swimming pool, video arcade, alcohol or dmg rehabilitation facility, group home for the developmentally disabled, halfway house, or correctional facility C. No Hospitality Business shall be located within 50 feet of any residentially zoned or used property. D. No Hospitality Business shall be located within five miles of any other Hospitality Business.
Full Breakdown
Ordinance No. 15, adopted June 30, 2020 and effective August 8, 2020, licenses two kinds of cannabis operations: a Marijuana Hospitality Business, which lets adults consume marijuana in a secured Consumption Area, and a Retail Marijuana Hospitality and Sales Business, which also sells retail marijuana inside a Restricted Access Area. Section 6's location rules stack four separate buffers rather than picking the largest: 1,000 feet from any existing public or private elementary, middle or high school, state-licensed daycare, playground or public housing facility measured as of the application date; 100 feet from a house of worship, youth center, public pool, video arcade, rehabilitation facility, group home, halfway house or correctional facility; 50 feet from any residentially zoned or used property; and five miles from any other licensed Hospitality Business.
Everyone under 21 is barred from the Consumption Area and Restricted Access Area by definition. The Board of County Commissioners caps the number of licenses it issues, and the Director of Community and Economic Development administers and inspects for compliance, while Adams County Sheriff's Office peace officers and county Code Compliance Officers write citations. Businesses must also comply with the county's Fire Code (Ordinance No. 4) and Building Code (Ordinance No. 12).
Violations & Fines
Section 8 makes a violation a criminal offense under C.R.S. § 30-15-402, with each day of noncompliance a separate violation. Fines are graduated: up to $500 a day for a first or second offense, at least $750 a day for a third, and up to $1,000 a day for any offense after that, plus a $10 court surcharge that funds victim and witness assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the buffers apply to a regular retail marijuana store?
Which buffer controls if a business is close to both a school and a church?
What if a school opens near an already-licensed business later?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Adams County
Compare Adams County to another location·View the Colorado cannabis regulations overview
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