No amendments were offered to the medical marijuana bill.

I was the floor leader, responsible for explaining House Bill 2 and defeating unfriendly amendments.

“This is your big day,” a committee colleague said to me shortly before today’s session began.

“I hope not,” I replied.

If we had done our job – bringing a good bill to the floor (with twenty committee amendments) and then suggesting to members thinking of offering floor amendments that this good bill did not need to be revised further, there would be no amendments.

“If you have your case won, sit down and shut up,” I was taught in law school.

In a court room or a legislative body.

It was not déjà vu all over again.

Yesterday, I was the floor leader when we debated eight amendments to the bill regulating medical marijuana.

Our goals were twofold, I told my colleagues.

1. Make possible the treatment needed by the many people who would benefit from it, as evidenced by the testimony of people with chronic disease or their parents.

2. Undertake a study to determine if discrimination in similar industries merits incentives for minority ownership in the businesses licensed to make the treatment available with a doctor’s prescription.

Today, the bill was on third reader, the vote that would send the bill to the Senate.

The only person who spoke was Delegate Glenn, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus.

She thanked me for my work on the bill.

I leaned over to her and said, “Let’s talk about doing this again on another issue next year.”

For now, it’s time to develop strategy for the conference committee, which will seek consensus on the House and Senate versions of this legislation.

The floor of the House of the House of Delegates is the main room, as they used to say in the Borscht Belt.

It’s where debates are held, votes are cast, and bills pass or die.

However, few votes are changed on the House floor. The whips have already taken their count, and party lines have already been drawn.

In my time here, I can think of one exception, repeal of the death penalty. Some of my colleagues voted yes who were not on our list if supporters.

I chaired the medical marijuana work group. Our work product will be debated on the House floor Friday.

I’ve had several opportunities this week to mold my argument for the bill.

With a small group of committee members, at the last meeting of the work group, before the committee leadership, and before the full committee.

I thought of it as a moot court, preparing for the real argument on the House floor.

My chairwoman thought otherwise.

“For Sandy,” she said, “this is batting practice.”