Sutton drug man's year-long wait for court appearance
Police discovered a tin of Fentanyl patches in Steven Page's bedroom drawers on April 18, last year, while they were investigating another matter.
Page said a friend gave them to him after they were prescribed for nerve damage, and he used some but they didn't have any effect, said prosecutor Robert Carr.
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Hide AdMr Carr was unable to explain why it had taken more than a year for the case to be heard, even though forensic testing of the drugs was completed in August.
Chris Perry, mitigating, said Page had recently come out of a residential drug de-tox programme, and was now on a methadone prescription.
"He is looking forward to a brighter future," he said. "He hadn't appreciated they were Class A drugs."
Page, 37, of Mount Pleasant, admitted the charge at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.
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Hide AdDistrict judge Andrew Meachen said: "This should have been sorted out a long, long time ago."
He gave Page a 12 month community discharge, and ordered him to pay a £20 government surcharge, but no costs were imposed because of the delay.