ALBANY — A coalition of nearly 70 New York state legislators have asked Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul to sign legislation meant to rescue cannabis growers.

The slow pace of development for the New York recreational marijuana industry, especially the slow pace of storefront openings, has left cannabis farmers with thousands of pounds of stockpiled product they grew but cannot sell.

Many farmers and processors have said they are close to or at a failure point, where their business will fail and their personal finances will be severely impacted.

“Very simply, the extended timeline of New York State’s troubles rollout of the licensing and regulations establish a safe, legal market for adult-use cannabis has had a significant negative impact on New York’s licensed cannabis farmers who invested in crops they now have limited places to sell,” the letter from the coalition of legislators reads. “The crop is also losing value by the day. Regulatory delays, lawsuits, and logistical and financing challenges have caused the state to miss its timelines and targets. However, cultivators are the group paying the steepest price.”

Lawmakers in New York’s legislature passed a bill, authored by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Kingston, chair of the state Senate Agriculture Committee, that would allow state-licensed growers to sell their products to dispensaries licensed to operate by the Native American tribes in New York.

While the state’s Office of Cannabis Management has seen only 23 dispensaries open under its conditional licensing program while it establishes permanent regulations, the most of the eight federally recognized Native American nations across the state have moved generally more quickly to establish their own cannabis regulation programs.

State law has banned any interaction between tribal-licensed dispensaries and state-licensed operations of any kind, preventing the sale of state-licensed weed in tribal dispensaries or the sale of tribal-grown weed in state dispensaries.

Hinchey’s bill would only allow the sale of state-licensed marijuana to tribal dispensaries, and would not permit tribal marijuana to be sold in state-licensed dispensaries.

“Many New York cannabis farmers are facing dire financial straits with unsold crops from last year, and time is running out to get products to market before they expire,” Hinchey said in a statement. “The Cannabis Crop Rescue Act is a vital short-term solution that needs action now, and we’re grateful to have the support of a bipartisan coalition of state legislators calling for its immediate enactment into law.”

Hinchey’s letter states that there are more than 200 farmers trying to sell their crops to the fewer than two-dozen dispensaries, leaving 250,000 pounds of marijuana products in storage on farmers’ and processors’ properties.

She said allowing commerce between the tribal nations and state-licensed growers can provide the short-term market these producers need to move product quickly.