Dealing with dope seems to make Beacon Hill policy makers put off until tomorrow what might best be done today. First the Legislature delayed by six months the date by which pot shops would have opened under the law voters passed at the ballot last fall.

Next, lawmakers blew their own self-imposed deadline to have a reworked law to the governor by the end of June.

Governor Charlie Baker, meanwhile, just missed the deadline for naming his appointments to an advisory board that will make recommendations to the actual policy-making body, the Cannabis Control Commission.

None of those delays have been crippling. Still, the timelines now get serious. By this time next year, the yet-to-be-appointed commission should already have started issuing licenses for growers and sellers. But before it does that, the panel must appoint an executive director, who in turn must select a chief financial and accounting officer, as well as other staff and consultants the commission may need.

Further, once it gets itself situated and staffed, the commission must write or flesh out regulations under which the marijuana retail industry will function, and refine the criteria for the granting of licenses. Oh yes, and it must also promulgate energy and environmental standards that growers must commit to as a condition of receiving licenses. And decide minimum security and employment standards for marijuana businesses.

And once all that is taken care of, it must actually review applications and award those licenses.

In other words, there’s an awful lot to be done in a hurry if the commission is to be ready to start issuing licenses sometime after June 1 of next year.

That’s why meeting deadlines now becomes important. The appointments to the five-member commission are due no later than Sept. 1. That sounds simple enough, but the process is actually conditioned and complicated. Each spot has background requirements. Further, two of the positions are joint appointments between the governor, attorney general, and treasurer, with a majority vote of those three determining the ultimate pick. The process is rife with potential for further delay — and a slip now will almost inevitably lead to another later on.

So it’s important to ensure that the implementation process works effectively and expeditiously. Governor Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Treasurer Deb Goldberg can take an important first step by making properly vetted, well-qualified appointments to the Cannabis Control Commission in a timely way.