Three months after the target date for the opening retail marijuana shops, legalization advocates are calling on the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission to "pick up the pace."

A handful of companies obtained provisional licenses are awaiting final approvals, as an opening still appears weeks away. They must still deal with inspections and a number of required conditions as part of receiving the final licenses.

Testing labs, a key part of the nascent marijuana industry since the substance must be tested before sold, were handed provisional licenses in late August.

The five-member commission has signed off on 38 provisional licenses, ranging from licenses for cultivation to product manufacturing, independent testing labs, transport and retail.

Once the Massachusetts retail shops open, they'll be the first marijuana establishments on the east coast.

Massachusetts voters broadly legalized marijuana for adult recreational use in November 2016. The ballot question was rewritten by state lawmakers, who pushed back deadlines while agreeing on July 1 as a target date for openings. The date was not enshrined in law.

Nevada voters similarly approved recreational use, and shops opened in July 2017, according to Will Luzier, who worked on the ballot question campaign legalizing marijuana.

Massachusetts officials have lost out on roughly $16 million in revenue from retail shops, or $176,200 a day, since July 1, Luzier said at a press conference outside the State House on Monday.

"Almost every day folks who are not involved in the process ask me, what's taking so long?" he said.

The commission is understaffed, he acknowledged.

Jim Borghesani, who served as the spokesman for the ballot campaign, said he fears recreational marijuana legalization process is beginning to mirror what happened with medical marijuana.

"We're very worried that again we're seeing a repeat of the slow rollout of medical cannabis in Massachusetts," he said.

Massachusetts voters approved medical marijuana in November 2012 and the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in June 2015. Gov. Charlie Baker's administration, once they took office, had to revamp the program started under Gov. Deval Patrick.

The Cannabis Control Commission is scheduled to take over the medical marijuana program, which is currently overseen by the state's Department of Public Health.

The Cannabis Control Commission has a meeting in Boston scheduled for Thursday.