The days when marijuana users will be able to congregate at an establishment in Massachusetts and socially consume the drug are years away, cannabis regulators said Tuesday, and it is likely that any social consumption will be limited to vaping and edibles.

The Cannabis Control Commission has the authority under the 2016 voter law legalizing adult-use marijuana to license social consumption sites — things like marijuana cafes or marijuana licenses for movie theaters — but regulators have opted to delay that part of the industry while they study how other states and cities are handling it. A final decision is expected by early 2019.

CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins presented the commission with the results of a CCC staff study on social marijuana consumption policies around the country and world. He said that because it is not widely permitted, research on the topic is sparse, “but there are a lot of analogies drawn between alcohol and tobacco.”

The Department of Revenue licenses “smoking bars” where patrons can buy and smoke tobacco products, but the definition for those businesses is too narrow to also cover the smoking of marijuana, Collins said. [Read more at WBUR]