Poll: Most Americans support legalizing marijuana

"Legalize it," goes the Peter Tosh song about marijuana. Now, for the first time ever, most Americans agree, according to a new Gallup poll.

Only 12% favored legalization when Gallup first asked the question in 1969, but support has now more than quadrupled, with 58% of Americans in favor of decriminalizing cannabis.

Pollsters believe that a growing awareness of the drug's usefulness in treating chronic pain and the side effects of cancer treatment is fueling increasingly tolerant attitudes across the nation.

The states of Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational use of pot and California is planning a referendum next year to follow suit.

Younger adults, Democrats and Independents were the most likely to believe that marijuana use should not be criminalized, with 67% of people ages 18-29 supporting legalization. In contrast, 45% of people above the age of 65 said weed should be legalized.