Joshua James Van Lawick jailed for three years for meth possession

The Gold Coast native and Mackay import has a long history of troubling meth use beginning in his teenage years.

A YOUNG mother struggling with homelessness and a long-term ice addiction has been told to use a jail sentence to get her life in order.

A Mackay drug dealer with a history of teenage meth use suffered assault and isolation while in prison but now he has a chance to begin again and get away from the drug that has poisoned his life.

Joshua James Van Lawick, 29, was taken to jail on February 10 after the police busted him with 20.7g of pure meth at an Alligator Creek property.

Mackay Supreme Court heard Van Lawick was sitting in a red Holden commodore at 2.45am when police raided the address.

He exited the vehicle and tried to throw away the car keys, telling the police he had thrown a knife away.

When the police found the keys and searched the car, they uncovered 36.5g of a substance later analysed to be 20.7g of pure meth and a smaller quantity of MDMA in a black bag on the passenger seat.

The police also found a pipe on Van Lawick, which he admitted he used to smoke the schedule 1 narcotic.

Van Lawick was taken to the Mackay watch-house and spent 292 days in custody before his appearance in court via videolink on November 29.

The court heard Van Lawick’s meth use began when he first tried the drug as a teenager.

His three-page criminal history included multiple entries for drug possession and supply.

The court heard Van Lawick had freed himself from the drug but spiralled after a car crash left him with a back injury and subsequent back pain.

Justice Graeme Crow accepted the back pain was in part responsible for Van Lawick’s fall back into drug use but said this did not excuse his behaviour.

“This has led you to be in jail again,” Justice Crow said.

“There are lawful means to getting pain relief.”

The court heard Van Lawick was using meth daily when he was arrested in February and he was also involved in commercial meth supply.

Defence barrister Scott McLennan said his client experienced a “torrid time” in prison and had to be transferred from Capricornia Correctional Centre to Maryborough after suffering an assault.

Justice Crow said Van Lawick had shown a capacity to keep clear of meth if he was “determined”.

“If you go back to it, you’ll likely get caught again, you’ll likely go back to prison, you’ll likely be denied proper pain relief and you’ll likely suffer again,” Justice Crow said.

Van Lawick pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of dangerous drugs exceeding two grams, possession of property suspected to have been used in connection with a drug offence, possession of a pipe and possession of suspected tainted property.

He was jailed for three years, with parole release on December 2.

Convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Joshua James Van Lawick jailed for three years for meth possession