The Tricky Thing About Medical Marijuana and Your Tax Return

— -- Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, but don't expect to use it as a write-off on your federal tax return.

That’s because the federal government still recognizes the drug as illegal.

"When federal law gets to the point where it's not illegal federally -- because it's just states that have it legal -- once Washington decides that it's going to be legal, then at that point it might be deductible,” said Tom Wheelwright, founder of the CPA firm ProVision. “But right now, it's not."

What about state tax returns?

“As the name suggests, and I assume people are using it for medicinal reasons, it may qualify as a deduction under the medical expense area,” says Bob Meighan, vice president of TurboTax.

Medicinal marijuana is a murky tax topic which is handled on a state-by-state basis.

Anyone living in one of the states that permit medicinal marijuana use should check state tax law, and hold on to their receipts.