Bulletin file photoConflicts between medical marijuana growing sites and neighbors have been over odors and where greenhouses are located. Some neighbors are just opposed to the practice altogether.

Some medical marijuana dispensary owners in Bend expressed excitement Wednesday about the passing of Measure 91, although, like many Oregonians, they still have a lot to learn about what it means for them.

Measure 91, which allows for the possession, manufacture and sale of marijuana by and to people over age 21, passed with nearly 56 percent of votes Tuesday. The new law makes pot legal on July 1, 2015.

It requires the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to come up with state licensing rules and regulations for growers and distributors by the start of 2016.

“I think it is going to be good,” said Kevin Fehrs, owner of The Good Leaf Organic Collective on Empire Avenue. “It will keep a lot of people out of jail for a plant.”

The state started issuing licenses for marijuana storefronts in March, and since then one of the largest medical marijuana scenes in Oregon has bloomed in Bend. As of Wednesday, the state listed 12 approved dispensaries in the city.

While the passing of Measure 91 could change the marijuana landscape, Fehrs, who runs the shop with his wife, said for now he plans to keep the shop focused on medical marijuana.

“We got into it to help people,” he said, saying the dispensary has about 1,000 medical marijuana card-holding regular customers.

As the OLCC crafts recreational marijuana rules over the next year plus, the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries in Bend will have time to consider whether to also enter the recreational market.

Jeremy Kwit, owner of Bloom Well on Division Street, said he’s already sure he wants to expand and is enthusiastic about eventually adding recreational pot users as customers.

“Cannabis is a very special plant,” he said.

Like Good Leaf’s owner Fehrs, Ron Koch, the co-owner of Cannabend on N. U.S. Highway 97, said he got into the business to help people. He said he plans to stick with catering to medical marijuana users. He said the products sold to medical marijuana users will likely be different than what will eventually be available for recreational users, with medical marijuana often having less tetrahydrocannabinol, or (THC), the chemical that produces a high.

He said he’s bracing for a boom of people looking to sell recreational marijuana, thinking it’s a way to make money.

“You will see an influx because people believe the hype,” he said.

Nick Harsell, owner of High Grade Organics on Southeast Davis, said he also plans to stay focused on medical marijuana and not expand into recreational pot.

“It is just a different environment,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7812, ddarling@bendbulletin.com