According to the survey, 44 percent said they didn’t apply for a license because of difficulty raising money for their businesses. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they’re still developing a business plan. And one-third said they haven’t been able to get approval from their city or town.

One big caveat, however, is that the commission’s survey was small — with slightly more than 60 responses. The survey was sent out Friday to more than 300 people who applied for the “economic empowerment” designation.

Commission Chairman Steve Hoffman said regulators are committed to helping these applicants, but it’s “premature” to draw conclusions about how the new recreational cannabis industry will eventually look. After all, only a dozen provisional licenses have been issued so far.

“It’s going to take some time,” Hoffman said at the commission’s public meeting Thursday. “We will monitor how this process works. We will tweak whatever we need to tweak to make it work. If we need to go back to the Legislature and ask for changes in the legislation, we will do so.”