(Maps courtesy of Volusia County)
Staff says that dispensaries are "substantially similar" to pharmacies and therefore would be allowed in the previously mentioned zones, so long as they do not come closer than 500 feet of a public or private school. If the Council chooses not to ban dispensaries, they can use existing pharmacy ordinances to establish where dispensaries would be allowed or create "Medical Marijuana Dispensary" as a permitted use zoning district. The County may also increase the distance a dispensary or cultivation and processing facility can be from a public or private school. Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.