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Oregon voters earlier this month delivered a blunt message when they legalized recreational marijuana use. But for landlords and developers, the future is hazier.

Though passage of Measure 91 makes marijuana legal in the state, it is still classified by the federal government as a Schedule I drug punishable with jail time and property confiscation. This disparateness creates a problem for cannabis producers and distributors seeking banks willing to do business with them, landlords willing to rent to them and developers willing to work with them.

鈥淚 was inundated with calls from developers the day after the votes were in wanting to know how the bank feels about leasing to tenants (in the cannabis industry),鈥� said Charlotte Boxer, director of commercial real estate markets for Pacific Continental Bank. 鈥淔rom a lender’s viewpoint, it’s still considered illegal.鈥�

Boxer said that most marijuana dispensary owners are willing to pay considerably more than market rate to lease space. Some landlords find the extra money tempting, but she said people willing to rent to marijuana dispensaries are placing themselves at risk.

鈥淟easing to those types of businesses could cause some of the other tenants to move out,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ome don’t like the possibility of the HVAC system blowing the smell 鈥� it can be pungent 鈥� into their businesses. Or they don’t like the clientele, or the constant traffic in and out.鈥�

Meanwhile, federally insured lending institutions are worried about transactions that could generate attention from government authorities.

鈥淎ny time we get a deposit of more than $10,000 per day, we have to file a S.A.R. 鈥� a suspicious activity report 鈥� with the Treasury to inform about possible terrorist activity or money laundering,鈥� Boxer said. 鈥淭he federal government is probably going to turn a blind eye, like they’ve done in Washington and Colorado, but we all know policies can change with each different administration.鈥�

Jeff Baker, president and CEO of Portland-based MBank, said the risks associated with lending to business owners in the marijuana industry are high. However, if those risks could be mitigated, MBank would be open to working with legitimate cannabis businesses, he said.

鈥淲e’re trying to figure out how to serve what is an underserved industry,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’d like to be able to help because the only financing that’s been available for them comes from private lenders with a different risk appetite and is very expensive.鈥�

Baker said that if landlords were protected from having their property confiscated by the government in cases where tenants were deemed participants in illegal activity, his bank would be more confident doing business with them.

Steve Malany, owner of P&C Construction, said he’s been approached by marijuana dispensary owners who are interested in renting space in one of his commercial buildings. He turned them down, he said, because his lending institution told him it would revoke financing if one of his tenants was committing a federal crime.

The shady legal standing isn’t scaring all developers away. Just this week the Portland Bureau of Development Services received a commercial building permit application for a proposed renovation of an existing Northeast Portland building to hold five grow rooms.

Portland-based Perlo Construction specializes in large-scale industrial buildings, but owner Jeff Perala said it’s unlikely his company would get involved in the marijuana industry because of uncertainty about legal conflicts and their possible consequences.

At a recent breakfast forum held at The Nines hotel in downtown Portland, the subject of legalized marijuana was met with stifled snickering from the audience after panelist Brian Glanville said that his firm, Integra Realty Resources, had been hired to assess a property with a building associated with the marijuana industry.

鈥淭he market for industrial space is already pretty tight,鈥� said Vanessa Sturgeon, president and CEO of TMT Development. 鈥淲e all giggle about it, but marijuana legalization is going to affect the industrial market.鈥�

Jones Lang LaSalle reported recently that the vacancy rate for industrial space in the Portland area dropped below 5 percent in the third quarter of 2014. That is the lowest rate the area has seen in 20 years.

Marijuana grow facilities generally are concrete tilt-ups, which are inexpensive to build, Sturgeon said.

鈥淭hey struggle to find financing, but people are finding creative ways to do it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s not Beavis and Butt-head that are putting up these buildings.鈥�