West Palm Beach, FL Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Sec. 94-611, Ch. 94 definitions
- Rule
- Medical marijuana dispensaries prohibited citywide
- Zoning pathway
- None; use not authorized in any district
- Cultivation/processing
- Not addressed; definition covers dispensing only
Summary
West Palm Beach prohibits medical marijuana dispensaries citywide. Sec. 94-611 of the Zoning and Land Development Regulations defines the use and states outright that dispensaries are prohibited within the city, so no zoning district permits one to locate or apply for a permit.
Medical marijuana dispensary means a facility licensed or registered by the Florida Department of Health which dispenses medical marijuana or products containing marijuana and related supplies, to qualifying patients or their caregivers, pursuant to statute. A medical marijuana dispensing facility does not cultivate process, transfer, or prepare any form of marijuana or marijuana product. Medical marijuana dispensaries are prohibited within the City of West Palm Beach.
Mezzanine means the definition of mezzanine shall be the definition contained in the Standard Building Code, 1997 Edition, as amended from time to time. The definition of "mezzanine" in the Standard Building Code, however, shall not effect the calculation of permissible stories in a building located in the downtown master plan area.
Minimum descent altitude (MDA) means the lowest altitude above mean level altitude to which descent is authorized on final approach or during circling-to-land maneuvering in execution of a standard instrument approach procedure (SIAP) where electronic glide slope is not provided.
Minimum en route altitude (MEA) means the lowest published altitude between radio fixes that ensures acceptable navigational signal coverage and meets obstruction clearance requirements between those fixes.
Minimum obstruction clearance altitude (MOCA) means the lowest published altitude between radio fixes on federal VOR
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 76).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 94's definitions section, Sec. 94-611, defines 'medical marijuana dispensary' as a facility licensed or registered by the Florida Department of Health that dispenses medical marijuana or marijuana products to qualifying patients or caregivers, and clarifies that a dispensing facility does not cultivate, process, transfer, or prepare any form of marijuana or marijuana product. ' Because the prohibition sits in the zoning code's definitions article rather than in a permitted-use table, there is no district, overlay, or special exception process anywhere in Chapter 94 that authorizes a dispensary use; the definition itself forecloses site plan review, conditional use, or business tax receipt applications for that use.
Growers, processors, and other license types not meeting the dispensary definition are not addressed by this section, so this record covers retail dispensing only. The city has not adopted a local opt-out ordinance separate from this zoning-code ban; the prohibition is written directly into the use definition that governs how planning staff classify and reject applications. Any applicant seeking to dispense medical marijuana within city limits must locate outside West Palm Beach's municipal boundary, such as in unincorporated Palm Beach County or another municipality that permits the use, since the zoning code offers no variance or waiver pathway around the flat ban.
Violations & Fines
An application to open a medical marijuana dispensary anywhere in West Palm Beach is not a zoning nonconformity to be corrected, it is a use the code does not authorize, so the development services department has no permit type to issue and will deny site plan or occupancional license applications outright. Attempting to operate a dispensary without an authorized use classification exposes the operator to code enforcement action for an unpermitted use of land under the city's zoning enforcement provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a medical marijuana dispensary open anywhere in West Palm Beach?
Is there a local opt-out ordinance separate from the zoning ban?
Does the ban cover marijuana cultivation or processing facilities?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in West Palm Beach
Florida rules heatmap·Compare West Palm Beach to another location·View the Florida cannabis regulations overview
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Dispensary Zoning in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Palm Beach County handle dispensary zoning.