Nancy Rivera, a cancer survivor, has a bag of pills in her night stand — white, gold and rust, big and little, antidepressants, antiemetics and tranquilizers — given to her by doctors. So it always seemed hypocritical to her that while she could possess such powerful mind-altering pharmaceuticals in fairly generous quantities, she was not allowed to legally smoke marijuana to relieve the nausea and pain of her cancer and chemotherapy.

Now her wish may be a step closer to reality as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York plans to announce in the State of the State address on Wednesday that he will use his executive powers to allow 20 hospitals across the state to dispense medical marijuana, state officials said.

The plan bypasses the State Legislature, which has failed to pass a medical marijuana bill, but it leaves much to be determined, such as which patients would qualify and which hospitals would be chosen as dispensaries.

Ms. Rivera, 60, who is in remission from breast, colon and throat cancers, and other patients and their families said on Sunday that they worried the program would be too restrictive. “I think it’s, kind of, more than anything for terminally ill patients, and that’s wonderful,” Ms. Rivera said. “But then there’s people like me. Are we dying right now? No. But we could certainly use the healing properties.”