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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 17-year-old youth turned into the RCMP by his mother after she found marijuana in his backpack pleaded guilty in court Monday to possession for the purpose of trafficking.

On Sept. 5, 2008, the Yellowknife teen was taken to the police detachment by his mother, and he turned over the drugs to RCMP officers. The mother had discovered the drugs in his bag after she took him to the hospital when he began hallucinating on "magic mushrooms," said Crown prosecutor Shelley Tkatch in court on Monday.

Tkatch said RCMP found a scale, three grams of marijuana and small plastic baggies in the backpack. The youth said he had been given 10 grams of marijuana by a friend and had sold seven grams for $10 each. He said he sold the drugs for "easy money."

The youth, who was 16 at the time of the drug offence, also pleaded guilty to one charge of assault stemming from a March 28, 2008 incident. The youth grabbed another boy by his sweater and attempted to pull him outside of the Yellowknife Inn in order to fight him. The other boy said he did not want to fight and the accused was unsuccessful in his attempt.

Tkatch called the teen's behaviour "troubling" and said he was "too immature to realize you can't just do whatever you want."

Judge Robert Gorin ordered the youth to live with his mother and said if the teen was to live on his own it would be a "recipe for disaster."

"Maybe you need money, but trafficking a drug is certainly not the way to go about it," said Gorin.

The youth was sentenced to one year of probation, during which he must complete 40 hours of community service. He cannot consume drugs or alcohol, and must attend school, be employed, or actively seek employment.

The youth's mother asked Gorin if the court will be testing her son to check if he has been breaching his probation by consuming intoxicants. The judge said he could not order testing.

"Can I?" asked the mother.

Gorin responded, "No, you can't."