NASHVILLE (AP) — One of the lead sponsors of a medical marijuana bill in Tennessee has withdrawn the measure after telling lawmakers that the legislation has been so watered down that passing it would actually be more harmful, especially to patients.

Republican Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville, who is also a medical doctor, told fellow lawmakers on Tuesday that he worried that passing the bill as it was amended would only forestall the full legalization of medical marijuana in Tennessee. The lawmaker told his colleagues that he's committed to the proposition that medical marijuana is a medication that helps people with many ailments.

Dickerson promised to be back next year with a more permissive bill that would allow for the growing, dispensing, regulation and taxation of cannabis.