Joshua Richard Hooper in court for supplying cocaine, marijuana

A man whose drug-using father would take him on “drug adventures”, a court has heard, had managed to make it to his 30s with no criminal record until a back injury.

Joshua Richard Hooper, 32, was busted possessing a large quantity of cocaine, steroids and supplying drugs to ‘mates’ which led him to front the Supreme Court in Rockhampton on February 12. Pic Credit Thinkstock

A long-term marijuana user whose drug-using father would take him on “drug adventures”, a court has heard, had managed to make it to his 30s with no criminal record until a back injury led him to using harsher drugs.

Joshua Richard Hooper, 32, was busted possessing a large quantity of cocaine, steroids and supplying drugs to “mates” which led him to front the Supreme Court in Rockhampton on February 12.

Defence barrister Samuel Bain said a back injury in 2022 was the catalyst to Hooper progressing his drug usage to harder drugs and the drug supplies were to friends “to help a mate”.

Hooper was busted during a search on September 23, 2023, possessing 7.37 grams of cocaine in 33.71 grams of substance, along with 3.81 grams of MDMA in 9.456 grams of substance, 30 grams of marijuana and vials of testosterone.

Evidence showed he had supplied drugs to one of two people targeted in a major police operation, along with nine supplies of cocaine or marijuana to at least three other people in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Mr Bain said his client had a “challenging upbringing”, telling the court his client had lived with his drug-abusing father after his parents separated when he was 12 years old.

Justice Graeme Crow said the material before him referred to Hooper being taken on “drug adventures” by his father, among other childhood trauma, which had left him with mental health issues and he is now receiving Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing treatment.

The court heard Hooper couch-surfed from age 15 to 21 and consumed marijuana since he was 15, but had a good work history and had worked at the meatworks, along with as a tyre mechanic and at the mines where he had worked his way up to a supervisor position.

He has recently been prescribed medicinal marijuana along with seeking help for his mental health issues and receiving the EMDR treatment.

Mr Bain said Hooper has four children to two former partners who he has good relationships with.

Hooper pleaded guilty to 10 counts of supplying dangerous drugs, two of possessing more than two grams of a schedule one drug, three of possessing a dangerous drug and one of contravening an order to provide access to electronically stored information.

He was sentenced to three years prison and released immediately on parole.