A MAN who has been "busted" by police for possession of cannabis has lobbied Berkshire MPs to legalise the drug for medicinal use.

Jonathan Liebling, 48, from Shinfield, who consumes a quarter ounce of cannabis per week to control anxiety and depression, has written an open letter to MPs in his capacity as political director of United Patients Alliance.

He said: "It's currently in schedule one of the misuse of drugs act, that means it's illegal for doctors to recommend it. If they [the government] moved it to schedule two - which they could do at any time - doctors could then recommend it and we could apply for an import licence from Europe. I would hope that something alone those lines could be done within the next 12 months."

The letter was sent out just a few days before a parliamentary debate on the legalisation of cannabis.

Mr Liebling, a former senior manager with Carphone Warehouse, first tried the Class B drug at a party when he was studying maths and computing at Preston Polytechnic and found that it helped beat his depression. But in 1986 he was caught by police and charged with possession with intent to supply the drug. He was fined £80, and was thrown out of university.

Mr Liebling said: "The police called my girlfriend's parents and when the university found out they kicked me off my course."

He continued to use cannabis for some years, but says he has had conflicting advice from doctors about using it to control his symptoms.

In 2014, after a number of "life events", including his mother being diagnosed with dementia, he visited his GP and asked to be referred to a counsellor but the doctor refused, advising him to give up cannabis and start a course of anti-depressants.

However he soon found himself having "suicidal thoughts".

He said: "I went back to a different GP and they took me straight off the medication and suggested I go back to cannabis. At that point I decided to fight for legalisation."

Mr Liebling, who consumes the drug via a vaporizer, said he condones the use of cannabis as a recreational drugs and does not believe it has had any detrimental effect on his working life.

He said: "I have worked as a senior manager and I had no problems at all."

In his letter, Mr Liebling calls on MPs to attend the parliamentary debate.

The letter says: "I have been treating my depression and anxiety through my choice to consume cannabis for most of my successful and productive, tax paying and law abiding (in all other aspects) life. The only time I stopped was after being arrested for growing my own and was given an anti-depressant instead.

"Prozac made me happy, sure, it made me happy with my suicidal thoughts. That experience nearly killed me.

"On the advice of my doctor I went back to consuming a more effective medicine with less undesirable side effects."

The parliamentary debate takes place on Monday, October 12.