In California, the legalization of marijuana is approaching quickly.

And in the Coachella Valley, the overwhelming majority of existing cannabis dispensaries say they would like to expand from serving medical cannabis patients to serving both medical and recreational customers.

Employees reached at each of the 26 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries now open in the Coachella Valley said their shops are at least interested in adding adult-use marijuana to their menus after Jan. 1, when new rules that allow any adult 21-and-up to buy cannabis in California will take effect. (For a list and map of 26 medical marijuana dispensaries, all of which have a local license from their city, see below.)

Background:Marijuana goes legal in California on Jan. 1 – what you need to know

The change is stoking both exuberance and uncertainty among dispensaries, where some employees said their shops are taking a "wait-and-see" approach before they start accepting recreational customers, while others said they plan to welcome adult-use visitors with a New Year's Eve party to celebrate the new market.

Of 26 dispensaries polled by The Desert Sun, none said their business is ruling out the adult-use market altogether.

Employees at 23 dispensaries said their shops aim to sell medical and adult-use marijuana in 2018, pending approval by the city and state. The remaining three said they are unsure or undecided about whether to enter the adult-use market.

Joy Brown Meredith operates Joy of Life Wellness Center, one of six licensed marijuana retailers in Palm Springs. She said her pot shop is applying to get a state recreational license because that way it can continue to serve current medical patients as well as casual walk-ins.

"We're much more interested in the medical aspects of cannabis, but we don't want to leave out people who maybe won't renew their medical recommendations," Meredith said. "We turn away people every single day that come in, because they heard that (Prop 64) passed in California and don't understand that (marijuana is) not available recreationally yet."

But dispensary employees reached at shops in Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs, the three desert cities where licensed dispensaries are open currently, also expressed caution in the face of changing local and state rules.

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More:Behind the scenes at a California dispensary preparing for legal pot on Jan. 1

Some voiced concern about how to keep medical and recreational transactions separate as required by the state's new track-and-trace system, which will monitor marijuana as it enters and leaves their shops. Others were uncertain about whether they will have state and city approval to sell pot to adult-use customers by early January.

The Desert Sun found 26 licensed dispensaries now open in the Coachella Valley. There are more on the way – although not in Indian Wells, Indio, Rancho Mirage and La Quinta, none of which allow marijuana retailers.

Other cities have only recently revisited retail bans. Palm Desert lifted its city-wide prohibition this fall. Coachella is reviewing a proposal to open a section of downtown to cannabis retailers.

There are also more dispensaries on the horizon in the western part of the valley. In Cathedral City, eight more potential marijuana dispensaries have been given a medical cannabis license, but do not appear to be open yet. And in Palm Springs, where the industry once faced a limit of six dispensaries, the city has removed its cap and is accepting applications for more pot retailers.

Palm Desert:On El Paseo, one marijuana retailer will be allowed as Palm Desert lifts marijuana sales ban

Coachella:Downtown to remain target area for cannabis retail in Coachella

Below is a list of licensed medical cannabis retailers now open in the desert. Many hope to open up their doors to recreational pot users in 2018:

Palm Springs:

CAPS Collective - 4050 Airport Center Drive, Suite C

Desert Organic Solutions - 19486 Newhall St.

Joy of Life Wellness Center - 142 W Oasis Road

Organic Solutions of the Desert - 4765 E. Ramon Road

Palm Springs Safe Access - 1247 South Gene Autry Trail

PSA Organica - 400 E. Sunny Dunes Road

Desert Hot Springs:

All About Bud - 64949 Mission Lakes Blvd #114

Brown Dog Health and Wellness - 66595 Pierson Boulevard

Desert Hot Springs Collective - 66292 Pierson Boulevard

Desert's Finest - 12106 Palm Drive

IVTHC - 11555 Palm Drive

Green Leaf Wellness - 12285 Palm Drive #102

Green Pearl Organics - 64949 Mission Lakes Boulevard #108

SunGrow Collective & CBD Center - 17003 Palm Drive

Cathedral City: