Earlier this week, the House of Representatives gathered on Capitol Hill to hash out the details of an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, which would have allowed physicians working with the Veterans Administration to recommend medical marijuana to their patients.

Unfortunately, while most Democrats stood in support of the proposal, aimed at preventing VA funds from being used to support a prohibitionary stance, the opposing forces of the Republican majority were enough to ensure the amendment had no chance of making it out alive. The measure failed in a vote of 213-210.

Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, the lawmaker who introduced the amendment, said he was disheartened by the congressional decision. Although the measure would have allowed VA physicians to discuss marijuana as a potential treatment option, he explained, it would not have given them the authority to write prescriptions for the herb. The goal of the amendment was to simply allow veterans and the doctors overseeing their care to work together in determining whether medical marijuana could be used as an alternative to prescription medication.