SAN DIEGO -- For nine years, Bill Osborn served as a Navy corpsman, but everything in his life changed in Afghanistan last May.

Osborn's unit came under fire, and he was wounded in the firefight. He continued to render aid to others.

"When I got shot instantly, I was still in the fight," said Osborn.

Weeks after the battle, anxiety and more set in, and it grew worse.

"It's a little embarrassing when you're with this elite unit to try and talk to these guys, so I self prescribed an anti-depressant," said Osborn.

Back stateside, Osborn was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and a mood disorder known as cyclothymia. He self-medicated again by smoking marijuana.

"I would do it at night to go to sleep and it worked," said Osborn.

A random drug test revealed what he was doing.

"In my opinion, he is facing an uphill losing battle," said Joseph Casas, a former military prosecutor now in private practice.

"The law is the law is the law. In the Navy, Marine Corps, you can't use drugs, period; there is zero tolerance for it," said Casas.

California may recognize medicinal marijuana use, Casas said, but the federal government does not.

"I know what I did was wrong. I know the Navy, I know the rules on that," said Osborn.

But what Osborn wants is for the service to take a step back and examine the circumstances case by case.

"I'm hoping this doesn't continue to happen to people," said Osborn, who no longer smokes marijuana and is on different medications.

He faces a recommended discharge that says other than honorable, which Casas said would strip him of benefits and follow him for the rest of his life.