Months of advocacy on behalf of her son ended in disappointment Tuesday for Tina McDermott.

The Davenport mother, convinced marijuana will help her son's seizures where pharmaceuticals failed, was saddened when a bill decriminalizing the drug for medical use failed instantly upon its introduction in the Iowa Legislature.

"I could cry I'm so disappointed," McDermott said. "There's not even a chance for our kids. Unbelievable. I know I'm not going to quit, but today was a big day."

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, introduced the bill Tuesday that would allow patients with certain medical conditions to receive marijuana on a doctor's recommendation.

But he couldn't get bipartisan support, he said.

“There’s disappointment we were not able to recruit bipartisan support for a very narrow bill to help these families with children suffering from seizures as a result of epilepsy," Bolkcom said. "We’re not going to be successful creating a program until we have bipartisan support for it. So we have a lot of education work to do ahead here.”