California's medical marijuana industry — and critics who contend it has become a cover for illegal drug dealing — are going to have to wait at least another year for the state to set up a system for licensing and regulating pot shops and growers.

Facilities for medical marijuana were cleared two years ago by the Palm Springs City Council, and recently, a Riverside County judge ordered the city of Rancho Mirage to let a collective open up a storefront in a strip shopping center.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano on Monday pulled his bill that would have established an appointed board to vet and oversee medical marijuana businesses so a Senate committee can do research and hold a public hearing on the issue.

AB2312 narrowly passed the Assembly last month, but Ammiano says it was looking unlikely the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development would endorse it or that Gov. Jerry Brown would sign it.

The San Francisco Democrat says he hopes to introduce a reworked version of the bill next year.