Judge Russell Finch said the way Jason Jordan, 27, Mark Brender, 29, and Jamie Robins, 35, had obtained the Class A drug was 'wicked'.
The woman sold fentanyl patches prescribed to her to give her two young children a 'good last Christmas' and to pay for her funeral, the Royal Court was told. A doctor said it was the saddest case with which they had dealt.
Jordan and Brender were sentenced to a total of four years and eight months in prison for being concerned in the supply of the drug, while Robins was handed a three-year prison sentence.
'Even in the world of drug supply, this reached a new low,' Judge Finch said.
'The young lady was in effect the victim. We want to stress we are wholly unimpressed.'
The woman's advocate, Rachel Eeles, said she had unsuccessfully tried her best to persuade the prosecution that it was not in the public interest to prosecute her.
The court heard how the woman had been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. She had been prescribed fentanyl, a strong painkiller.
