Matthew Price, 37, of Warrnambool, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to trafficking methamphetamine and possessing cannabis.

He was jailed for four months.

The court heard Price was arrested on August 22, 2019, during a routine intercept in Warrnambool's Howard Street at 7.05am.

Price exited the vehicle and was observed by police throwing a box about one metre away from him.

An officer located the box which contained 2.52 grams of ice separated into seven individual zip lock bags.

Inside Price's vehicle was an ice pipe, a flick butterfly knife and a set of digital scales.

All of the items were seized, as well as his mobile phone.

Price was transported to Warrnambool police station where he was found in possession of a small quantity of green vegetable matter.

A brief analysis of his mobile phone uncovered messages relating to the sale of methamphetamine.

Price also pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of criminal damage. That involved him throwing a mobile phone at a house, causing it to smash.

The court heard Price had a lengthy criminal history that involved being jailed for more than two years for stabbing a fellow mourner at a Warrnambool funeral wake.

But his lawyer said that since being in custody, Price had become a "born-again Christian" and was hoping to be baptised upon his release from custody.

Magistrate Franz Holzer said he did not agree with the lawyer that Price should be sentenced to the 107 days he had already served in custody on remand, stating drug trafficking was a serious offence that needed to be condemned.

"There seems to be a view that it is OK to simply dabble in drugs and sell them for one's own benefits but it is not OK," the magistrate said.

"The reality is drug trafficking at whatever level is not OK. There's a real issue with drugs in regional Victoria and it causes distress, misery and dislocation of families and loved ones.

"People who peddle in drugs must anticipate that they're going to get a fairly robust response from the court."

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