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The campaign, believed to be the first time mainstream advertising has been used to promote an illegal product, has been created by a team from a top-ten London agency on behalf of the Alliance for Cannabis

Therapeutics and is supported by leading doctors and charities.

The six press ads argue the case for cannabis to be made available to those suffering from debilitating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, cancer and chronic arthritis.

The advertisements, which appear in sepia tones, all carry an image of the cannabis leaf. One depicts a leaf sitting in a pestle and mortar.

The text illustrates the apparent contradictions of the law, whereby a GP can prescribe substitutes of the known killers, cocaine and heroin, but cannot prescribe cannabis in any form - in herbal tea, a tincture or via an inhaler.

The cover line for the ad reads: "I can't prescribe you a safe, naturally occurring herb for the pain of MS. But I can give you heroin."

Another ad, showing an image of a cannabis leaf descending into a china tea cup, reads: "To escape the pain of chronic arthritis, Mrs Taylor is breaking the law."

The first ad will appear in the Telegraph, space permitting, within the next two to three weeks. The account director who is handling the business, but who wishes to remain anonymous, said deals are close to being made with three other publishers. The campaign is looking for titles to donate free space.

"We have also approached people like the billionaire financier, George Soros, who has backed a similar campaign in the US to the tune of dollars 500,000. We are not doing it for the agency; it is a personal thing," the account director said.

Clare Hodges, an MS sufferer who runs ACT, said: "We are not campaigning for the general legalisation of cannabis. We want people to understand it is a very valuable medicine and we are campaigning to have it made available from doctors. I am running this campaign from a back room. I hope the ad campaign will take things on to a new level."