For months, July 1 has been floated as the day the first legal marijuana stores could open in Massachusetts.

Now July 1 is here. But no marijuana stores will be open, and there is no forecasted date for when they will be.

July 1 "means nothing. Nothing's going to happen," said Jim Smith, an attorney with Smith, Costello & Crawford Public Policy Law Group who represents marijuana businesses.

Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman has been stressing for months that the commission is focused on launching the industry the right way rather than adhering to what he calls "an arbitrary deadline."

"I'm sorry that people have expectations that are not met," Hoffman said after a commission meeting last week. "I'm truly sorry about that. That being said, our objective is to satisfy the will of the voters of the state of Massachusetts to build a fair and safe and equitable industry. We are doing so."

The only date that is actually in state law is June 1 - the day the Cannabis Control Commission was allowed to start granting licenses. July 1 was a target for the earliest possible time marijuana could be available.

Although the commission has been accepting license applications - beginning May 1 for some priority applicants and June 1 for everyone else - the process of actually getting approval and opening shop takes time.

So far, the commission has issued one license, to Sira Naturals, allowing the company to grow marijuana for recreational use at its existing medical marijuana cultivation facility in Milford. On Monday, the commission will consider Sira Naturals' requests for licenses to manufacture products and transport marijuana. The commission also will consider its first licensing request for a retail store, from Cultivate Holdings in Leicester.

The commission has approximately 60 completed license applications. It will review them in the order they were received, with priority given to existing medical marijuana dispensaries and applicants from communities disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests. The applications include 18 for retail stores.

The commission recently voted to prioritize applications from independent testing labs that are submitted by Aug. 1. As of last week, no testing labs had submitted completed applications. Because testing of marijuana is required before it can be sold, a lack of testing labs could prevent stores from opening.

Hoffman said he will not predict when consumers will be able to go into a store and buy marijuana. "There are too many moving parts. I'm not making a forecast," Hoffman said.

Smith said part of the challenge is that each municipality has its own rules. "We have 351 cities and towns, 351 different sets of rules," he said.

It can take time for a prospective business owner to find a town that does not have a ban or moratorium on marijuana businesses, then figure out that town's zoning and find an available parcel in the correct zone. Some landlords or banks will not rent to a marijuana business, and leases can be more expensive. Once a site is found, the business has to go through the process of getting local approval and developing a host agreement.

Existing medical marijuana facilities have an advantage because they already have sites and relationships with municipal officials.

The Cannabis Control Commission requires a four-part application. Once an application is completed, the commission must review it. Background checks must be performed on owners, managers and certain employees.

Cities and towns must confirm that the applicant has met municipal requirements, such as zoning bylaws, a process that can take up to 60 days.

"Those are slowing down the process," said Will Luzier, political director for the Marijuana Policy Project in Massachusetts, the coalition that pushed for marijuana legalization.

If a provisional license is granted, the business must still build out its site, get inspections and secure a final license.

Sira Naturals is in a strong position to get marijuana to the market, since it is being considered for three of the state's first four licenses. Even so, President and CEO Michael Dundas said Sira Naturals does not anticipate selling marijuana in its own stores until late fall or winter - although it could sell marijuana wholesale to other retailers before then.

The company's cultivation license is a provisional license, which means there are conditions the company must meet before it can be granted final permission to grow. Potentially, the company could then transfer some of its medical marijuana plants to the recreational market.

Sira Naturals must still get approval for its licenses for transportation and product manufacturing.

The company today has three medical marijuana dispensaries, in Needham, Cambridge and Somerville. Needham banned recreational marijuana businesses, and Cambridge and Somerville are still working out their zoning. Dundas said Sira Naturals must wait for the zoning to be completed before the company can apply for retail licenses.

Dundas said the July 1 date was always "aspirational," and the process takes time, since all parts of the industry need to be set up - cultivation, retail, testing, and so on.

"It's important to remember the Cannabis Control Commission was charged not only with giving cannabis licenses to individual companies but creating an environment where the entire supply chain can emerge on its own," Dundas said.

Some communities are working hard to put zoning and bylaws in place, and the Cannabis Control Commission pledged to continue reviewing and granting licenses. But experts say it will take months for the industry to get up and running.

Luzier said the first stores to open likely will be existing medical marijuana dispensaries that convert to also selling recreational marijuana.

Smith said he expects there could be a handful of retail marijuana stores in the state by Labor Day.

"The process is so complicated, much more so than anybody thought," Smith said.