The Republican-controlled House made history today by approving an amendment to prohibit the Drug Enforcement Administration from meddling with state medical marijuana and hemp laws. No, you are not reading an Onion article. Just a year ago, a story about President Obama lighting up with Uruguay’s José Mujica in the Oval Office would have seemed just as plausible.

California Republican Dana Rohrabacher led the 219-189 vote on a bipartisan appropriations amendment. It faces several hurdles before it becomes law, but that it was approved in the House with bipartisan support is nothing less than groundbreaking.

Washington, it’s clear, has finally found some courage on drug war policy. It’s a simple calculation, really. Countless public opinion polls show shifting attitudes toward medicinal and recreational marijuana. Congressmen, in turn, realize that there is less political liability by backing pro-pot legislation.

And it has become increasingly clear that it makes fiscal sense for the states, as well.