The deputy Prime Minister agreed people should be allowed to lawfully smoke medicinal cannabis after being quizzed by a Brighton campaigner on live radio.

Nick Clegg said cannabis should be legally available in a “straightforward way” to help people alleviate their debilitating medical symptoms.

His comments came after a call on LBC radio from Clark French, the founder of the Brighton-based United Patients Alliance (UPA). Mr French, 28, from Brighton, uses cannabis to help alleviate his severe multiple sclerosis (MS).

He asked Mr Clegg yesterday: “We need legal access to medicinal cannabis, because then I could have a job. I want to contribute to society. Why is this being denied to people and what are you going to do about it?”

The Liberal Democrat politician responded: “Clark, I strongly agree with you. Where there is a proven medicinal use for cannabis for instance, we should make that easier for those to have access to it in a straightforward legal way in order to alleviate the symptoms that you clearly have that you know as a user is alleviated by the use of cannabis.”

He went on: “If you’re anti ‘the harm that drugs do’, then you should be pro-reform. “You say I haven’t been very outspoken about this, but I’m going to be very outspoken about this.

“Let’s take a more intelligent approach. Where there is a medicinal use, let’s make sure you have access to that in a more regulated way.”

Last year Mr Clegg was criticised for backing a report by the London School of Economics suggesting that the war on drugs had been lost and legalisation should be trialled.

The UPA has also received support from Mr Clegg’s party colleague Norman Baker, the MP for Lewes.Clark French, UPA founder, said: “It’s great to know that I have support from the deputy Prime Minister but that is not enough.

“As Nick clearly knows that our drug laws need to change, he needs to act on this now while he is in a position of power.

“I was pleased to hear him say that the dangers of skunk are a real reason that we need to regulate. To protect children, cannabis must be taken out of the hands of criminals. To reduce the harms of cannabis there should be legal access to cannabis for adults and medical cannabis for all patients.”

Opponents of drugs legalisation have linked cannabis use with mental health problems such as psychosis.