Doña Ana County, NM Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

The county's cannabis rules sit in § 350-502G of the Unified Development Code, adopted under the state Cannabis Regulation Act and the Dee Johnson Clean Indoor Air Act. 1, the county's Land Use Classification Matrix, and cannabis retail is treated as a special use requiring a permit rather than a by-right use in most zones. Subsection G(7) carves out a narrow path into the T4 (General Urban) zone: a retail business that legally existed there and already carried a County business registration when this section was adopted can convert to a cannabis retailer if it meets all T4 development standards.

Outside that grandfathered path, every cannabis establishment, cannabis consumption area, and cannabis courier is also boxed in by the county's 300-foot separation rule from residential areas, schools, and day-care centers (§ 350-502G(2)), and cannabis retailers cannot sit within 300 feet of another retailer or consumption area. for on-site consumption. Subsection G(8)(b) requires any person engaged in commercial cannabis activity, other than personal medical production, to hold a County business license, and all cannabis uses must still clear the county's building, fire, and life-safety codes. Personal cultivation for qualified patients under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act is allowed anywhere in the unincorporated county without these zoning limits.