Forty-four percent of Americans now say they support marijuana legalization, while 54 percent oppose legalizing the drug, according to a new Gallup Poll.

CBS News reported Oct. 20 that while legalization supporters are still firmly in the minority, support for ending marijuana prohibition has risen steadily from 31 percent in 2001.

In the Western U.S., 53 percent of poll respondents said the drug should be legalized as a way to generate tax revenue, compared to 44 percent in the East and 30 percent in the South and Midwest.

Legalization support was strongest among 18- to 59-year-olds, 50 percent of whom backed the proposal, whereas only 28 percent of poll respondents aged 65 and older supported legalization.

Three of four liberals backed legalization while similar numbers of conservatives opposed the idea; 51 percent of self-avowed moderates said they were against legalizing the drug.