Michael Robert Morris Nixon left the Whakatane police station to smoke methamphetamine in his car, the Whanganui District Court heard.
Nixon pleaded guilty to charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of utensils for consuming methamphetamine and theft, offences committed while on holiday in New Zealand.
Sergeant Stephen Butler said, at 6am on December 30 last year, Nixon was released from the Whakatane police station on another matter.
He returned to his vehicle where he smoked methamphetamine before pacing around the car park.
When police approached he became aggressive and had to be sedated by paramedics.