Harrison County, MS Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing amendment
- Code 2203HC037, adopted 08/08/22
- Cultivation minimum site size
- 2 acres, A-1 District
- Use classification
- Conditional use (C), not by-right
- Categories added
- Cultivation (Tiers 1-6), processing, transport, disposal, research
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Harrison County only
- Max fine, general UDC violation
- $100 per offense (§ 1409.05.02)
Summary
Harrison County's Unified Development Code treats medical cannabis cultivation, processing, transportation, disposal and research facilities as a conditional use, not a by-right one. Amendment 2203HC037, adopted August 8, 2022, added these categories to the § 415 Table of Uses and set a 2-acre minimum site size for cultivation facilities in the A-1 General Agricultural District.
SECTION 415 - TABLE OF USES R = Uses permitted by right C = Uses requiring conditional approval ... Cannabis Cultivation Facility Tiers 1-6. Minimum site size in the A-1 … District is 2 acres. *2203HC037 – 08/08/22
Cannabis Processing Facility … *2203HC037 – 08/08/22 Cannabis Transportation Entity … *2203HC037 – 08/08/22 Cannabis Disposal Facility … *2203HC037 -08/08/22 Cannabis Research Facility … *2203HC037 -08/08/22
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
The Board of Supervisors amended the UDC's Section 415 Table of Uses on August 8, 2022 (Code 2203HC037) to add six tiers of Cannabis Cultivation Facility, plus a Cannabis Processing Facility, Cannabis Transportation Entity, Cannabis Disposal Facility, and Cannabis Research Facility (including one located on college or university property) as separate line items. 01). The amendment did not opt Harrison County out of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act; instead it built a zoning pathway for these uses inside the existing Table of Uses framework that already governs unincorporated Harrison County.
A conditional use requires Planning Commission and Board review before a permit issues, and any conditions attached to that approval are enforceable UDC obligations, not suggestions. These provisions apply only outside Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach, Pass Christian and D'Iberville, each of which zones cannabis businesses under its own code. Definitions for each cannabis business type, cultivation, processing, disposal, research and transportation entities, are set out separately in UDC § 203, cross-referencing the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act for licensing terms the county zoning code does not itself define.
Violations & Fines
Operating a cannabis cultivation, processing, transportation, disposal or research facility without the required conditional-use approval, or breaching a condition attached to that approval, is a misdemeanor under UDC § 1409.05.01, sentenced per Miss. Code § 17-1-27 et seq. The county can also issue a cease-and-desist order, injunction or a fine of up to $100 per offense (§ 1409.05.02), and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense (§ 1409.05.03).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a cannabis cultivation facility locate anywhere in unincorporated Harrison County?
Did Harrison County opt out of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act?
What happens if a cannabis facility operates without conditional-use approval?
Does the county's cannabis zoning apply inside Gulfport or Biloxi?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Harrison County
Compare Harrison County to another location·View the Mississippi cannabis regulations overview
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