A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer who used cannabis-laced chocolate to control pain has described the conviction of her suppliers as "absolutely disgusting".

Former nurse Pauline Taylor, 54, from Durham, had planned to go to Carlisle to give evidence at their trial, but was unable to travel because of her worsening condition.

Last night, Ms Taylor said "I feel dreadful for not going now, but I wasn't well enough."

Three people were found guilty yesterday of supplying thousands of cannabis-laced chocolate bars to multiple sclerosis sufferers for pain relief.

Mark Gibson, 42, and his wife Lezley, 42, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), both from Alston, Cumbria, and Marcus Davies, 36, from St Ives, Cambridgeshire, were convicted of two counts each of conspiring to supply cannabis throughout 2004 and until February last year.

The Gibsons admitted running a cottage industry making and posting more than 20,000 Canna-Biz bars containing about 3.5g of the drug to victims of the disease, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Both said it was a free service funded by voluntary donations, and only available to MS sufferers.

Davies admitted running a website and post office box for the not-for-profit organisation, Therapeutic Help from Cannabis for Multiple Sclerosis, but had denied any involvement in making or posting the chocolate.

Cash receipts totalling £30,000 were seized by police, but the court heard that Lezley Gibson told officers these referred to donations used to fund the operation.

The couple said cannabis eased the symptoms of MS, a claim they said was backed up by medical research. All three defendants said they believed they had a defence of medical necessity.

Until recently, Ms Taylor relied on the chocolate bars to help her cope with agonising muscular spasms. Now she says she will have to go back to smoking illegal street cannabis to control her pain.

"I just wish that the jury could experience what MS people go through every day. When you think they give methadone to heroin addicts and we can't get a bit of legal cannabis," she said.

A spokesman for the MS Society said: "This case gives even more weight to the calls we have been making for properly-trialled cannabis-derived medicine to be provided on the NHS."

The defendants are due to return to court on January 26 for sentence.