Lower Merion, PA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

Section 155-10.5 sets the operating conditions a medical marijuana dispensary must meet in Lower Merion Township once it is listed as a permitted or regulated use in the applicable zoning district's use table. The dispensary must be legally registered with the Commonwealth and hold a current, valid medical marijuana permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Health before it can operate. Physically, the use is confined to an indoor, enclosed, permanent, and secure building; the Township explicitly bars a dispensary from operating out of a trailer, cargo container, mobile or modular unit, mobile home, recreational vehicle, or any other motor vehicle, which rules out any temporary or vehicle-based dispensing model.

A dispensary cannot share a site with a facility used for growing or processing medical marijuana, so cultivation and retail dispensing stay physically separated even where both uses are otherwise allowed in the Township. Drive-through service is flatly prohibited, and the building must have a single, secure public entrance with security measures in place to deter theft and unauthorized access to areas holding product. Hours of operation are capped at 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily, and the dispensary may sell only to certified patients and their registered caregivers, never to the general public.

Parking follows the same requirements Article VIII sets for retail uses, and vehicular access has to be designed to handle the anticipated service traffic. The Township regulates where and how a dispensary may run rather than banning the use outright.