Julian Marley, Bob Marley's son, set to release single calling for the legalisation of marijuana

Julian Marley performs in concert in Rabat, Morocco (ABDELHAK SENNA/AFP/Getty Images)

Julian Marley, son of legendary reggae artist Bob Marley, is set to release a song calling for the legalisation of marijuana, 40 years after his father's former bandmate released a song with the same message.

The song, entitled Lemme Go, is set to be released later this month, and calls for the legalisation of marijuana - a policy the Jamaican government recently moved towards, after they decriminalised the possession of small amounts of marijuana on 6 February this year.

In a fortunate coincidence, the day of decriminalisation fell on Bob Marley's birthday - he would have been 70 years old on the day had he survived.

Marley says his single is in touch with the recent developments in Jamaica.

Speaking to The Jamaica Gleaner, Marley said: "It's been a long time since the Rastaman has been speaking about freeing up the herb, the benefits of the herb, and the goodness of the herb - from food to clothing, to medicinal purposes - so everything coming off that vibration of we feeling that the herb should be free."

"Colorado freed it up, and you find that many other states in the US are freeing it up, so this is the vibration while it's happening in Jamaica."

Jamaica decriminalised the possession of small amounts of marijuana in February (JENNY VAUGHAN/AFP/GettyImages)

Peter Tosh, a former member of Bob Marley's band The Wailers, released the song Legalize It in 1975, as part of his first solo album. The song was immidiately banned by the Jamaican government, as marijuana was still illegal.

However, their attempts to stop the song failed, and Tosh became internationally famous.

Julian Marley, now a devout Rastafarian, was born in London in the same year, the only one of Bob Marley's sons to be born in the UK.