After a marathon session that stretched nearly four hours, a Northampton City Council subcommittee found itself deadlocked Monday night on a proposed limit to the number of cannabis dispensaries in the city.

With two members initially set against the measure and two in favor of it, councilors ultimately agreed to send the proposal to the full nine-person council with a neutral recommendation neither a positive nor negative judgment on whether the city should for the first time place a cap on the number of marijuana retailers it allows to do business.