Fort Myers, FL Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

Florida cannabis is medical-only — adult-use recreational marijuana failed at the November 2024 ballot (Amendment 3 received ~56% but missed the 60% supermajority threshold). The state's medical program is governed by Article X, Section 29 of the Florida Constitution (Amendment 2, 2016) and Florida Statutes 381.986, administered by the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) Office of Medical Marijuana Use. FDOH licenses Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs) as vertically integrated operators that cultivate, process, and dispense — no separate retail-only licenses exist. Home cultivation is prohibited; patients (or their caregivers) may only obtain product from licensed MMTC dispensing facilities. The local zoning framework is set by FS 381.986(11): (a) any county or municipality may, by ordinance, ban MMTC dispensing facilities from being located within the boundaries of that jurisdiction; OR (b) if it does not ban them outright, the jurisdiction may not enact ordinances for permitting or for determining the location of dispensing facilities that are more restrictive than its ordinances permitting or determining the location of pharmacies licensed under Chapter 465. The jurisdiction may not charge a license or permit fee greater than the fee charged to pharmacies. The state buffer at FS 381.986(8)(b)4. prohibits an MMTC cultivating or processing facility within 500 feet of the real property comprising a public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school. The City of Fort Myers exercised the moratorium option in December 2017 (a temporary ban while the Council considered permanent rules), but the moratorium expired July 1, 2018; the city did NOT adopt a permanent outright ban, so MMTC dispensing facilities are permitted in Fort Myers on the pharmacy-equivalent zoning standard. One dispensing facility — Curaleaf (Fowler Street and Colonial Boulevard) — received approval before the December 2017 moratorium and has operated continuously. Subsequent MMTCs must locate in any zoning district that allows a Chapter 465 pharmacy as a permitted or special use and meet the 500-foot school setback. Lee County and other Lee County municipalities have varied — for example, the Town of Fort Myers Beach and Village of Estero have adopted outright bans under FS 381.986(11)(a). Cultivation, processing, and testing facilities under MMTC vertical integration are state-regulated separately and would generally require industrial/agricultural zoning subject to the 500-foot school buffer.