COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Applicants to operate the first Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries will have to wait a little longer to find out whether they'll be awarded licenses by the state.

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy canceled a special meeting scheduled for Wednesday and plans to announce dispensary license winners at a its regular monthly meeting June 4-6. The agency had just announced the Wednesday meeting on Monday. Of the 376 applications submitted in November, the board can award licenses to as many as 57 sites across the state.

Board spokesman Cameron McNamee said all applications have been scored but the board is still waiting on background check information and verifying whether applicants have met all of the necessary objective criteria. One of those criteria is whether a proposed site is at least 500 feet from a school, church or other prohibited site.

"We wanted to make sure everyone meets those minimum qualifications," McNamee said.

Several applicants have told cleveland.com that they have spent thousands of dollars each month to hold properties in anticipation of receiving a license. Postponing Wednesday's meeting pushes would-be dispensary owners into a new month. McNamee said the board understands that frustration but also has an obligation to meet all laws and rules so there aren't issues after winners are announced.

The Ohio Department of Commerce did not verify whether medical marijuana growers met the mandatory qualifications before announcing license winners, cleveland.com reported earlier this year. A cleveland.com review of redacted cultivator applications and county property records found at least four sites did not meet the 500-foot buffer rule at the time the applications were turned in.

The Department of Commerce said it checked whether applicants signed off on the requirements and will verify adherence to the 500-foot rule and all other requirements before issuing certificates of operation to the 25 companies issued grow licenses.

Ohio's medical marijuana program is supposed to be "fully operational" by Sept. 8, per state law. State regulators said last month that some but not all marijuana businesses will be up and running by then.

McNamee said the board has already trained inspectors so it can issue operating permits to dispensaries as soon as they are ready.

The law allows people with people with one of 21 medical conditions to buy and use marijuana if recommended by a doctor. The law allows dispensaries to sell plant material for vaping, oils, lotions, tinctures and patches. It does not allow people to smoke marijuana or grow it at home.

Patients are expected to begin registering for the program in July.

The pharmacy board can initially issue up to 60 licenses spread across 28 districts composed of one or multiple counties, per its rules. However, no applications were received in two Western Ohio districts, so 57 licenses is the maximum that will be awarded.

Cuyahoga and Franklin counties could have up to five dispensaries apiece. Each license can only be used for one location, but companies can hold up to five licenses.

The pharmacy board contracted with Atlanta-based North Highland Co. to help develop the dispensary application and scoring process. The company also helped with medical marijuana programs in Minnesota and Pennsylvania, according to the company's bid to work with Ohio's program.