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.
If it was his son, daughter or close family member who suffers from PTSD and is boardering on suicide, would Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) still vote no? Just wrong!