A desperate Queensland father who gave his toddler cannabis oil to treat her aggressive stomach cancer has been released on a good behaviour bond.

The 32-year-old Cairns man pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday to supplying the drug to his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter by cooking it into her food in December 2014.

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The father was told his little girl had a 50/50 chance of surviving an aggressive stomach cancer and turned to the internet for help. Photo: 7 News

The court heard the father had been dosing the toddler for a few days when the child's mother confronted him as to why the food had a funny smell and taste.

Prosecutor Glenn Cash said he thought the drug would help cure his daughter after researching on the internet and speaking to others about its benefits, and wanted to delay the child's chemotherapy in order to give it to her.

Mr Cash said the father, who can't be named for legal reasons, had ordered the drug online from northern NSW and California and believed it was having a positive effect on her when he was caught.

On Boxing Day 2014, he sent a text saying: "Oils are in. Little monkey's eating heaps of meatballs with oil."

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The court heard the drug had neither a harmful nor beneficial effect on the child other than increasing her appetite and making her sleepy.

Justice Peter Flanagan said what the father did was "wrong and illegal" and he couldn't have known what effect the cannabis oil would have on his daughter, what was in the oil or how it would react to her other medications.

Judge: "The circumstances of this case are sad and unusual." @7NewsQueensland — michelle rattray (@MichelleRattray) March 23, 2016

However, he did hold a genuine belief that it would help her and he said he appreciated the desperation of a parent with a child suffering from a life-threatening cancer.

The court heard the father had lost his job of 12 years at a local school after he was charged because he could no longer hold a blue card and a community service order would adversely effect his ability to see his daughter, who remains gravely ill.

Sentence: good behaviour bond & no conviction for father who gave 2 y/o daughter cannabis oil to treat aggressive cancer @7NewsQueensland — michelle rattray (@MichelleRattray) March 23, 2016

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