A man has admitted forging a prescription that he took to a chemist.

Freddie Fletcher changed the drug he was meant to receive from codeine to diazepam.

The 30-year-old appeared before Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood on November 11, entering a guilty plea to uttering a forged document, and will be sentenced on December 2.

A second charge of attempting to possess drugs, was withdrawn.

Prosecuting advocate Hazel Carroon told the court that Fletcher went to Accident and Emergency, on August 1 with an injury.

After being treated, he was prescribed the painkiller codeine.

On August 7, Fletcher returned to the accident and emergency department, saying he’d left his prescription on a friend’s fishing boat, and the boat would now be away for two weeks.

He was given another codeine prescription, and later that day went to Clear Pharmacy.

The prescription he presented was for diazepam, but staff were concerned about the high dosage listed, and that ‘diazepam’ appeared to be written in different handwriting to the rest of the document.

They contacted the hospital and it was confirmed codeine was prescribed.

Fletcher, who lives at Close Malew in Castletown, was arrested, but initially claimed that a friend had changed the drug name, and he hadn’t noticed it.

The court heard he has no previous convictions.

Defence advocate Jim Travers said that his client had genuinely been injured and had misplaced his first prescription.

He said Fletcher had been in severe pain and had felt the injury was worse than it had been assessed as, but was no longer claiming that a friend was involved.

‘It was an amateur effort that was bound to fail,’ said the advocate.

Mr Travers asked for a probation report to be prepared and for seven days to file a basis of plea.

Bail continues.