Winter Haven, FL Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Sec. 21-97, Pharmacies and medical marijuana dispensing facilities, regulates where these uses can locate in Winter Haven, and subsection (d) sets the school buffer specifically. A medical marijuana dispensing facility cannot be located within 500 feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school, and the code specifies the separation is measured from property line to property line rather than by walking distance or building entrance, giving a precise, mappable standard. S. Ch. 986 and Ch.

003 for what counts as a medical marijuana dispensing facility, with the ULDC's own definitions controlling if there is any conflict. The buffer sits alongside the zoning-district and special-use rules in subsection (e): dispensing facilities are permitted outright only in the C-3 and C-4 commercial districts, reviewed as a special use in C-1 and C-2, and reviewed as an accessory special use inside medical clinics in the MX district. A dispensing facility approval also expires if construction has not begun within 180 consecutive days of the special use order, or if the use is abandoned for 180 consecutive days once operating.

Winter Haven adopted Sec. 21-97 by Ord. No. O-18-01, Sec. 2, on January 22, 2018, with an amendment by Ord. No. O-24-13, Sec. 1, on March 25, 2024. The section applies only to new pharmacies and medical marijuana dispensing facilities under subsection (b), the applicability clause.