Douglas County, CO Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Dispensaries allowed
- None; countywide opt-out
- Cultivation/processing
- Excluded from agriculture definitions, § 1-3602
- Governing instruments
- Resolution No. R-010-108; Ordinance No. O-012-003
- Permit path
- None in any zone district
- Personal home-grow
- Governed separately by state Amendment 64
Summary
Unincorporated Douglas County has opted out of marijuana entirely: no dispensary, cultivation operation, product-manufacturing facility, or testing lab may locate anywhere in the county. County Code excludes all marijuana activity from the "agriculture" and "agricultural products" definitions, tying the exclusion directly to Resolution No. R-010-108 and Ordinance No. O-012-003. There is no zoning district, conditional-use permit, or special-review path that authorizes a cannabis business here.
Land uses related to grazing or raising livestock or land uses which produce products that originate from the land's productivity, such as farming, ranching, forestry, tree farming, animal husbandry, and horticulture. Excluded from this definition is all marijuana prohibited by Douglas County per Resolution No. R-010-108 and Ordinance No. O-012-003. AIRPORT Any area of land or water designed for the landing and take off of aircraft for business or commercial purposes, including all necessary facilities for passenger and cargo loading, maintenance and fueling facilities and housing of aircraft. ALLEY A public or private vehicular passageway dedicated or permanently reserved as a means of secondary access to abutting property and designated as an alley on a final plat. An alley shall not be considered to be a street. AMBIENT LIGHTING All available light surrounding a subject sign at any point in time with the subject sign light source extinguished. AMBIENT NOISE LEVEL The average equivalent sound level (LEQ) occurring during a six-minute period as measured with a sound level measuring instrument. The ambient noise level shall be determined with the noise source at issue silent, and in the same location and approximate time as the measurement of the noise level of the source at issue. ANIMAL, EXOTIC An animal introduced from another country not normally kept as a household pet or farm animal. (See "animal, nondomestic.") ANIMAL, HOUSEHOLD PET
Full Breakdown
Douglas County Code § 1-3602 defines "agriculture" and "agricultural products" around farming, ranching, livestock and horticulture, then carves marijuana out entirely: the agricultural-products definition excludes "any marijuana product, the cultivation or other processing of which is prohibited by Douglas County per Resolution No. R-010-108 and Ordinance No. O-012-003," and the agriculture definition separately excludes "all marijuana prohibited by Douglas County" under those same two instruments. That cross-reference is how the County writes a countywide marijuana ban into its zoning code without creating a use category for it: rather than list a marijuana cultivation facility, product-manufacturing facility, testing facility, or retail store as a permitted, accessory, or special-review use anywhere across Parts 3 through 14 (the A-1 Agricultural through GI General Industrial districts), the code simply defines the activity out of existence for zoning purposes.
Because the County adopted Amendment 64's local opt-out, the Community Development Department has no application category to accept for a dispensary, grow site, manufacturing facility, or testing lab in unincorporated territory. Residents of unincorporated communities such as Highlands Ranch, Roxborough Park, The Pinery, Stonegate, and Sedalia fall under this same countywide code and the same ban; there is no separate Highlands Ranch process, since Highlands Ranch is unincorporated and governed directly by the County rather than by a city. Colorado's constitutional home-grow allowance for personal use operates independently of this commercial ban but does not open any retail or commercial pathway in the county.
Violations & Fines
Operating a marijuana cultivation site, product-manufacturing facility, testing lab, or retail store in unincorporated Douglas County is an unpermitted use under the Zoning Resolution: it appears in no use table for any zone district, so the Community Development Department treats it as a zoning violation from day one. The County can issue a cease-and-desist order, deny or revoke any related business license, and pursue court enforcement; no special-review application or variance can authorize the use, since the code defines it out of the agriculture and agricultural-products categories entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a marijuana dispensary in unincorporated Douglas County?
Does this ban apply in Highlands Ranch?
Can Castle Rock or Parker allow what the county bans?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Douglas County
Compare Douglas County to another location·View the Colorado cannabis regulations overview
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