For first time in history more than half of the country – 58 percent – now support marijuana’s legalisation, according to a recent Gallup poll. An issue once designated to the far left has gained bi-partisan support, as progressives and conservatives alike have found common cause.

“It’s a fascinating coalition,” said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, the only national trade group representing the marijuana industry. “You have traditional progressives that are wary of the effect of drug war policies, libertarians and conservatives that support free markets and states rights, and the state politicians that see the potential economic benefits of tax revenue and law enforcement savings,” West told Al Jazeera.

Read more: Debate swirls over budding marijuana business | Al Jazeera