A majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana according to a Gallup poll released on Tuesday, NBC News reported.
The 58 percent of participants that expressed their support demonstrated a 10 percentage point increase from last year. Gallup conducted the poll between Oct. 3 - 6 by phone and surveyed 1,028 people.
Most of the supporters were young and liberal. However, the most significant increase of support came from people who identify as independents at 62 percent, showing a 12 percentage point increase from last year.
Among Democrats, 65 percent favored legalizing it while only 35 percent of Republicans supported legalization.
The participants were separated into five different age groups -- 18 to 29, 30 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 or older. Of all five, only the 65 and older voters did not show majority support of legalization with a total of 53 percent opposing it.
"Americans are increasingly recognizing that marijuana is less harmful than they've been led to believe," said Mason Tvert, spokesperson for Marijuana Policy Project. "I think it's time to regulate marijuana like alcohol and most Americans appear to agree. We're seeing support for ending prohibition in states across the country and efforts are being made to change state laws."
Currently twenty states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana for medical use while two states -- Washington and Colorado -- permit recreational use of it. The federal government still views it as an illegal drug and it remains categorized as a hallucinogen by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Although there is increasing support for the use of marijuana, opposition is still out there.
"I'm concerned that these people that are saying that they are favoring legalization are really not aware or knowledgeable about the marijuana that's out there today," said Carla Lowe, founder of Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana.
In April, a poll conducted by Pew Research found that 52 percent of Americans supported legalizing marijuana.
