Jefferson County, CO Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

The Board of County Commissioners banned retail marijuana establishments effective January 1, 2016, under Resolution CC15-352, exercising the local opt-out authority granted by Section 16(5)(f) of Article XVIII of the Colorado Constitution (the amendment that legalized retail marijuana statewide but let local governments prohibit it). 4 on the same subject and defines the banned entities exactly as the state constitution does: a marijuana cultivation facility, a marijuana testing facility, a marijuana product manufacturing facility, and a retail marijuana store. Because the prohibition covers cultivation, manufacturing and retail sale together, there is no zoning overlay, buffer distance, or licensing pathway to evaluate; the answer to "where can a dispensary go" in unincorporated Jeffco is nowhere.

The ban has no sunset date: Section C states it stays in effect until the Board of County Commissioners takes further action to repeal or amend it, meaning any change requires a new vote by the Commissioners rather than expiring on its own. The ordinance's definitions section separately preserves the term "medical marijuana center" as licensed under the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code, a category addressed by the county's separate medical marijuana ban rather than this ordinance.