A US federal appeals court has ruled that a dying cancer patient could be prosecuted for using marijuana as a last resort.

Angel Raich is 41, a mother of two and living the last part of her life. Marijuana is the only drug keeping her alive and one she takes every couple of hours, under her doctor’s advice.

The fatally ill woman suffers from scoliosis, an inoperable brain tumor, chronic nausea, a weight-loss disorder and seizures. She eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours on doctor's orders to ease her pain and bolster her appetite. Her doctor has said without it she would “starve to death.”

A federal court has denied her right to use marijuana though. She could even face prosecution on drug charges. The Oakland, California resident is indeed perplexed. “The court has just sentenced me to death,” Raich said. “My doctors agree that medical cannabis is essential to my very survival.”

According to a Supreme Court ruling against Raich two years ago, users and suppliers of medical marijuana face prosecution, even if they live in a state that allows them to use the drug as a medicine.

California is such a state. The dichotomy between federal and state law on the issue of medicinal marijuana has been highlighted by this case.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals considered the situation as a right to life issue - should Raich have the right to use marijuana to keep her alive when no other drug is available.

Their decision was quoted in the press, “Federal law does not recognize a fundamental right to use medical marijuana prescribed by a licensed physician to alleviate excruciating pain and human suffering.”

Presiding over the San Francisco court, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Harry Pregerson voted against Raich's claim, saying a medical need does not allow an individual to violate the law, the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune said.

“Nothing in the common law or our cases suggests that the existence of a necessity defense empowers this court to enjoin the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act as to one defendant,” he said.

The legal case began in October 2002 when Raich and Diane Monson attempted to safeguard their medical marijuana use by suing the government.

Raich's attorney told the paper that the case may soon be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where they would ask for a review of the appeal court's decision.