Baramee Janorat once spent nine months at a Buddhist temple in Thailand in a bid to kick his drug addiction for good.
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But soon after returning home to Victoria, the 24-year-old plasterer fell back into old habits.
He killed Robert and Lynette Anderson, aged 69 and 68, respectively, after driving on the wrong side of the road northwest of Melbourne while high on ice, ketamine and fentanyl.
Janorat, now 24, was jailed in Victoria's County Court on Tuesday for a maximum of 12 years.
He must serve seven years and two months before becoming eligible for parole.
Judge Rosemary Carlin said Janorat hadn't just "abruptly and violently" killed Robert and Lynette Anderson, but shattered the lives of their loved ones.
Just before the crash in October 2019, he was seen screaming and giving the middle finger to another motorist who narrowly avoided being hit.
The Andersons' son, Craig, cried as he explained he hadn't just lost his parents, but his best friends too.
"It was a careless and selfish act that left me devastated and angry," he told the court earlier this month.
"I feel cheated ... my anger will always stay with me."
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Janorat's lawyer, Tessa Di Paolo, previously said the young man "cannot resist the allure of drugs".
He used daily since the age of 20 and in 2018 returned to his birth country of Thailand for nine months to train as a Buddhist monk at a temple specialising in drug rehabilitation.
Following the fatal crash, he was found with ice, ketamine and fentanyl in his system.
He also had a syringe full of clear liquid in the car.
A motorist who saw Janorat driving that day told police "there was something going on with him".
"His eyes looked really cloudy and it was almost like they were rolling back in his head," the man said.
Janorat has already spent 176 days in custody and this will count towards his sentence.
Australian Associated Press
