While state medical marijuana programs have become ubiquitous around the country, few are aware of the fact that the federal government ran its own medical marijuana program for many years, and in fact still has a patient who is given 300 joints of federally-grown marijuana each month.
Compassionate IND program
The Compassionate Investigational New Drug program, established in 1978, allowed patients with serious medical conditions to receive a regular supply of cannabis from the federal government. The program was very limited, with only 13 patients receiving marijuana, which many considered to be of very low quality. The program does not allow any new patients but continues to operate, providing cannabis (grown at the University of Mississippi) for two individuals who remain part of the program.