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The use of medical marijuana as a treatment is gaining acceptance in the medical field, but it is fraught with danger for users due to the fact that the Federal Government does not recognize any medical uses for marijuana. From the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 to The Drug Abuse and Control Act of 1970, the Government has outlawed the use and distribution of marijuana and has classified it as a Level I drug. Recently, though, many researchers are recognizing that historical medicinal uses of marijuana are replicable in lab settings, and there is a growing call for legal use of medicinal marijuana.

Twelve states have legalized the medical use of marijuana, including Oregon which has 14,868 medical marijuana cardholders, and 7,115 caregivers who are licensed to provide it for their patients.(Saker) Many medical uses and the processes through which they work have been discovered recently. According to the Mayo Clinic, the active ingredients in marijuana, THC and cannabin and cannabidiol, have the ability to attach themselves to two types of receptors in human cells. The main receptor, called CB1, is found mainly in the brain and controls movement, memory and nausea. This is why research has shown THC to be effective in helping to control the after-effects of chemotherapy. Other ailments that THC is effective in treating include Glaucoma, Multiple Sclerosis and general pain relief.(Marijuana as Medicine)
The Governments response to this beneficial use of marijuana can be summed up by the words of Bernie Hobson, spokesman for the DEA's Seattle regional office, "From a Federal standpoint, there is no such thing as medical marijuanaMarijuana is not viewed as a medicine, period."(Budnick) This despite the years of research and testing and, in twelve states at least, historical documentation of its efficacy.
This leaves the "legal" user in these twelve states with a "Hobson's Choice", with apologies to Bernie. They can use marijuana legally, in their state, but if the Federal Government decides to arrest them, they cannot use their states medical marijuana law as a defense in Federal Court. Even the existence of a medical marijuana law in their state is not allowed into evidence in Federal Court. All the defendant can say is that they used marijuana, or grew it or distributed it, with no allowance for the reason why.
This extreme reaction by the Federal government seems to fly in the face of other decisions it and the Supreme Court have reached in recent years. The Supreme

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