FINED: A White Hills man has pleaded guilty to using a false script.
A WHITE HILLS man has been fined for using a false document to obtain narcotic painkiller OxyContin, after allegedly finding a blank script on a footpath.
Martin Underhill, 43, was fined $800 without conviction after pleading guilty to charges of theft and using a fraudulent document to prejudice another person, in order to obtain the over-the-counter medication.
The Bendigo Magistrates Court heard Underhill had found the blank prescription while walking past a chemist on Bridge street, Bendigo in 2012.
He said he came across it and decided to use it to fill in his script for OxyContin.
He was legally prescribed the drug in 2010 after suffering a serious injury while working in the mining industry.
Magistrate Jennifer Tregent said people using false documents to obtain OxyContin was a big issue and said it had become so prevalent that it was known as the “heroin of the bush”.
She said she acccepted that Underhill was in a different category and was legitimately using it for pain relief but questioned whether he could have got the painkiller in a more appropriate manner.
“I accept that he (Underhill) has real pain and health issues,” she said.
“Certainly there could be an easier way for him to obtain that medication.”
