A soldier who shared a photo of himself taking acid will go to military prison for two years and has been dismissed from service.

At a court martial in Linton on Monday, Signaller Braedan Francis Onehi​, 23, faced multiple charges of supplying, offering to supply and consuming LSD in Linton Military Camp in 2019 between May and August.

Onehi's defence lawyer, Steve Winter, pleaded guilty on his behalf to three representative charges of consuming, supplying and offering to supply a fellow soldier the class A controlled drug.

Onehi sparked an investigation into his drug use after sending a fellow soldier a picture of himself with three tabs of acid on his tongue.

As military police analysed his phone, it revealed a series of transactions and messages between himself and another soldier, Private Vincent Van Gent.

When questioned by the military police, Van Gent confessed to everything, confirming he had purchased LSD from Onehi and the screenshots of transactions of $50 and $100 were for acid.

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Onehi would ask Van Gent if he was “coming to watch league”, a codeword for buying acid, Van Gent's military police interview said.

Van Gent was disciplined in a summary trial and remains a serving member of the New Zealand Army.

However, when Onehi was questioned he could not recall what Van Gent wanted in their transactions and claimed the pictures found in his phone were pieces of patterned paper he had cut up to look like acid to convince others they were real.

He eventually pleaded guilty to all charges at Monday's court martial.

The court heard from Winter that while Onehi's offending put service members at risk, he was not a sophisticated dealer, only supplying to himself and one other for almost no financial gain.

“It would be naive if not stupid to think that would not create risk in a military environment.

“[But] he is not part of a large consortium of drugs across the military. He is a low-level street dealer.”

However, prosecutor Colonel Craig Ruane said Onehi knew what he was doing and continued multiple times.

Ruane suggested dismissal and imprisonment of up to 2½ years would be acceptable punishment for Onehi's crimes but Winter called on the court to be compassionate.

“His family want him home but they want him home in the best shape possible. Their wish is that he is sentenced to a term of detention,” Winter said.

Chief Judge Kevin Riordan called upon Onehi, with the help of his stepfather Denly Karena, to speak to his cultural connections to hapū Ngātiwai of Ngāpuhi.

Taking the stand, Karena told the court how, with whānau support, he could help his stepson move forward positively under detention, with his guidance.

However, Riordan was firm as he addressed Onehi, sentencing him to dismissal from the army and 24 months in military prison.

“LSD is a hallucinogenic drug,” he said.

“For a person who the people of New Zealand have entrusted with deadly weapons, firearms, the prospect that you are seeing things that are not there is a concern.

“People expect more from a member of Ngāti Tūmatauenga.”