Ms Raich suffers from a brain tumor as well as scoliosis and nausea. On the advice of her doctors she smokes pot every two hours to alleviate the constant pain. Dr. Frank Lucidio, her physician says that marijuana has restored Raich’s mobility and has lessened pain. The 41-year-old Raich said marijuana kept her alive by stimulating her appetite as well as relieving pain.

She was stunned by the decision, but insisted that she would continue to use marijuana to stay alive.

Raich and three others had sued the government in 2002 seeking relief from federal laws which prohibit the use of medical marijuana. In 2005 the Supreme Court ruled that she would not be exempted from federal prosecution. However the justices did leave the door open for lower courts to consider Raich's right to use medical marijuana.

However a three-judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that although there was “uncontroverted evidence” showing Ms Raich needed medical marijuana to survive, she was nevertheless liable to be prosecuted as she lacked legal grounds to defend use of the drug.

the court said that it recognized the fact that medical marijuana was gaining wide acceptance. “But that legal recognition has not yet reached the point where a conclusion can be drawn that the right to use medical marijuana is ‘fundamental.’ ”

California was the first US state to legalize the use of medical marijuana through a ballot measure called Proposition 215 in 1996. Since then the law has intervened on many occasions. Currently 11 states have legalized medical marijuana with New Mexico poised to adopt the measure thanks to the patronage of Gov. Bill Richardson.

Marijuana is under the schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in the US. Cannabis or marijuana is a recognized pain relieving substance since the last 4,800 years. The drug finds mention in ancient Indian texts where it was apparently used to treat a wide range of conditions including childbirth.

However due to its addictive properties, marijuana was banned in the United States early last century. Advocates of medical marijuana say it is extremely useful in cases like cancer and AIDS where patients are forced to live in constant pain.

But the FDA does not recognize medical marijuana. In April last year the agency clarified its stand in an inter-agency advisory.

"A past evaluation by several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use," the advisory sates.

Additionally the FDA made it very clear that it had no approved smoked marijuana for any condition or disease indication.

Ms Raich though is willing to risk prosecution to stay alive. The mother of two is planning to appeal the case to the full Ninth Circuit. "I don't want that coffin, but from this point on I am walking dead," she said. "I will continue to use cannabis. I will continue to smoke cannabis. ... This is real medicine and the federal government cannot tell us any differently."