A Coast mum busted dealing meth has avoided jail time due to suffering a traumatic brain injury

A Coast mum busted for dealing meth in 2019 has avoided jail time, due in part to a “traumatic” brain injury which would make custody “pretty hard” for her.

Maree Ann Johnson leaving Maroochydore District Court on Friday.

A Coast drug dealer charged with 16 counts of supplying methamphetamines while on probation has avoided jail time after a court heard she had a "traumatic" brain injury which could put her at risk in custody.

Maree Ann Johnson, 39, faced the Maroochydore District Court for sentencing on Friday after pleading guilty to all 16 charges last year.

The mother-of-two was charged with supplying drugs after police searched her house in 2019, finding digital scales and two mobile phones which were analysed, revealing her details of her dealing.

The court heard she was on probation for possessing dangerous drugs at the time.

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Crown prosecutor William Slack said Johnson had supplied meth to people on 14 occasions and was charged with supplying the drug to herself, with the intent to resell it, on two occasions in July 2019.

He said the quantities ranged between 0.1g and 1.75g, the latter commonly known as a "half ball".

The court heard a person named Dan was Johnson's most "consistent customer" and the more serious charges against her were for supplying Dan with half balls for $450.

Maree Ann Johnson pleaded guilty to supplying meth on 16 occasions in 2019.

Mr Slack said methamphetamines were an "insidious" drug and people who "infect our community" should expect punishment.

He said the punishment handed down to Johnson should act as a deterrent to her and the general community and submitted actual time in custody was warranted.

"It was a small amount of drugs to a small amount of people," defence barrister Simon Lewis said.

"She's not somebody who's getting it out there into the wider world.

"The money made (went) into drugs for her own use."

Mr Lewis said Johnson's offending happened at a time when she was in a relationship "littered with domestic violence."

"At one time she was sleeping with her supplier to get drugs," Judge Richard Jones said.

"That relationship is well and truly over," Mr Lewis said.

He said she had made poor choices in partners and drug use and domestic violence were rife in the relationship which, in conjunction with a brain injury, led her to "spiral."

In 2011, Johnson "fell or was ejected" from a car doing 60km/h and suffered a "traumatic" brain injury, the court heard.

Johnson needed a titanium plate in her skull and has since lived with cognitive and auditory memory difficulties.

He said Johnson was the primary carer for her son and daughter but needed the help of a carer herself for day-to-day activities like shopping and cleaning.

Johnson had poor short and long term memory he said, adding that she was likely to find life in custody "pretty hard."

Maree Ann Johnson leaving Maroochydore District Court after being sentenced on Friday for supplying drugs.

In his sentencing remarks Judge Jones said he had taken into account Johnson's early guilty plea and said there were factors that indicated she did not have the mental capacity to appreciate the extent of the offending.

"The brain injury is clearly significant," he said.

He said offences involving methamphetamine were taken seriously in the eyes of the court and the community.

"Being a user yourself you would be well aware of the devastating impacts of this drug.

"It is really tearing the community apart in some areas, particularly regional areas.

"It wreaks havoc on the user, the user's family and the general community."

Judge Jones accepted Johnson's drug use had accelerated in 2018 and 2019 when she was in a "dysfunctional and violent relationship with a drug dealer."

He said Johnson lived an isolated life and was "barely able to cope" with everyday activities but had made an effort to address her drug issues, including spending a month in a residential rehabilitation centre.

"I'm by no means convinced that you have solved your problems with drug use at this stage, but I have no doubt you have taken steps to rehabilitate yourself," Judge Jones said.

"A period of actual custody would jeopardise the steps you've taken to rehabilitate yourself."

He said Johnson would also be at "serious risk" in the prison system as her impairment would make custody "extraordinarily more difficult."

Johnson was given head sentence of two and a half years with immediate parole.

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Originally published as A Coast mum busted dealing meth has avoided jail time due to suffering a traumatic brain injury