A CANNABIS cooking circle established by a grey-haired grandmother is still serving up marijuana meals despite its founder facing jail.

Patricia Tabram has vowed to keep on cooking up the drug, in her friends' kitchens, after she was warned she faced a possible prison sentence for possession of more than £800-worth of cannabis with intent to supply.

Mrs Tabram, 66, a former restaurateur, swears by the drug as a natural remedy for the painful ear condition tinnitus, mild depression and backache caused by a car crash. She said: "I am not allowed to keep cannabis in the house or get involved in buying it, so someone else is doing it now.

"As well as myself, the group consists of three women who suffer from MS and a man who has terrible arthritis. We all feel the benefits of eating cannabis."

Rather than smoke the drug, Mrs Tabram found she preferred it in soup, cakes and hot-pots.

Friends in the village of Humshaugh, near Hexham, Northumberland, also developed a taste for her herbal dishes.

But the smells wafting from her country kitchen drew the attention of the police, who raided her bungalow.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how police swooped on Mrs Tabram's home last June, one month after seizing 30 10in plants from her attic.

They discovered 242 grams of skunk, a strong variety of cannabis buds, worth £850.

Mrs Tabram, who is writing a book about her experiences, refused to reveal the identity of the four friends who shared her stash.

She said: "I received a call one day from an elderly lady asking about my cooking.

"I took her round a chicken and leek pie and a cheesecake. Both contained cannabis.

"That is how our group started. I can't cook in my own home any more, but I'm using friends' kitchens."

She added: "Since I went on cannabis I have been pain free, pill free and my hearing aid is redundant."

Mrs Tabram will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on March 11.