Cannabis Shops Near Schools Don’t Drive Teen Use, Canadian Study Finds
When legalizing cannabis, protecting youth is a top priority
In July 2025, New York cannabis regulators admitted they had been measuring the required 500-foot buffer between dispensaries and schools incorrectly, calculating it from the school’s property line to the shop rather than entrance to entrance.
The announcement sparked uncertainty among retailers, as more than 150 affected businesses and applicants, some already up and running, faced closure or relocation. Twelve of them sued the state that August, arguing they had stuck to the school proximity rules under the state’s cannabis legalization law.
Eventually, the state grandfathered existing licenses through a bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul this February. This saved businesses and applicants from relocating and revised school proximity rules, clarifying that the 500-foot school and 200-foot house of worship distances are measured entrance to entrance.
New York cannabis businesses have been luckier than those in Colorado, where federal prosecutors in 2012 ordered 23 medical cannabis dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools to shut down at those locations or face federal enforcement. Those shops closed, with some relocating.
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