Washington, DC Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

C. 06(q), the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) and its ABC Board enforce a location buffer for every retailer and internet retailer license in the medical cannabis program. The base rule bars a location within any residential zoning district or within 400 feet of a preschool, primary school, secondary school, or recreation center. A grandfather clause carves out license holders and applicants who filed before December 17, 2024: those applicants are held to the pre-existing, narrower 300-foot buffer rather than the current 400-foot standard, so the effective distance a given business must clear depends on when it applied.

06a(a)(1) locate within 300 feet if the school or recreation center's main entrance actually sits on ground zoned commercial or industrial. 06(q)(2) protects it from having to relocate to renew its license if a school or recreation center later opens within 400 feet of the existing facility, so the buffer only blocks new placements, not new neighbors. 06(q-1), no retailer license may issue for a location within 400 feet of another facility already operating under a retailer license, and where two pending applications conflict, ABCA processes the one filed first in time and moves to the next only if that application is denied.

06(q-2) directs the Board to separately weigh a proposed retailer's proximity to daycare centers, the effect on a daycare's operations and clientele, and whether school-age children going to or from a daycare would be unduly drawn to the retailer, giving the Board discretion to deny a site even outside the 400-foot line.