Karon Elizabeth Kilbride, 44, appeared in Christchurch District Court on August 10 before Judge Stephen O'Driscoll.
Kilbride pleaded guilty to the charge of theft from her work place, the Addington Pharmacy.
Kilbride stole 20 bottles of 30mg tablets of Codeine, 15 bottles of 60mg Codeine tablets, and 18 bottles of 60mg tablets of Sudomyl, which is a class B drug for pain relief.
Each bottle contained 100 tablets, resulting in Kilbride stealing over 5000 tablets all together. She offered to pay reparation of the $741.01, the cost of the drugs stolen.
Judge O'Driscoll imposed a rehabilitation sentence including treatment of counselling and supervision for 12 months.
Kilbride worked as a technician and her job involved placing orders and dispensing controlled drugs.
The drugs were stored in a locked safe and counted three times a day by the pharmacist.
There is no evidence Kilbride done anything with the drugs apart from using them for herself for her back pain and hay fever.
Kilbride said she had been addicted to pain killers since 2015. She regretted her actions and was now feeling shame and embarrassment.
Judge O'Driscoll took into consideration that Kilbride had no previous convictions and was a low-risk offender.