DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:  There are reasons to be optimistic about a vote in Congress that didn’t go our way.

Last night the U.S. House voted down a bipartisan amendment by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) that would have allowed Veterans Administration (VA) doctors to recommend marijuana to their patients.

The House rejected a similar amendment last year. It received 195 votes (222 voted against it). Last night, 210 members of Congress voted for it, and only 213 voted against it.

That’s a 15-vote pick up — and in a Congress far more conservative than last year.