Wow, it seems the "reefer madness" mentality is easing up. The AMA thinks the scheduling of cannabis as class 1--the most tightly-restricted category of drugs--is based on minimal research and that its potential beneficial medical use should be looked into.

This article gives a concise, although spotty, history of the consensus on cannabis from the 1930s until today. There is definitely a shift in tone on the subject, and its curious that the federal government failed to comment, and the FDA maintained that nothing has changed.