SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A woman who attempted to bring 175 grams of marijuana to her dying brother, who her lawyer said has an inoperable brain tumour, will wait until June 22 to find out her sentence.

The 39-year-old woman pleaded guilty Friday to possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking after she was arrested at the Yellowknife airport on Christmas Eve with the drugs.

The woman claimed she was trying to bring the marijuana on a flight to Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, for her sick sibling. She pleaded guilty to the charge at the first opportunity, according to her defence lawyer Jay Bran.

"(She) takes full responsibility for having possession of the drugs," said Bran.

On Dec. 24 police were called to the Yellowknife airport, where they seized 125 grams of marijuana that had been hidden in a bag. The drugs were initially discovered by airport staff while the woman was checking in for her flight.

When asked if she had any more drugs hidden in her baggage, she produced another bag containing 50 grams of marijuana. Crown lawyer Wendy Miller said the street value of the marijuana was about $2,500.

Miller proposed the woman receive a sentence of 10 to 12 months in jail due to the amount of drugs she had and where she was taking them.

"She was travelling to Gjoa Haven, a dry community, for the holidays," said Miller.

Bran, however, asked the court to be more lenient as his client had a clean record and pleaded guilty to the charge right away.

"Her actions, I suppose, can be characterized by acting in a misdirected way for what she thought was a good reason," said Bran.

As her ailing brother had tried different forms of medication, the woman decided to bring him marijuana, which is touted in some circles as a useful pain medication and is available legally in some parts of Canada for terminally ill patients.

Though Bran conceded the smuggling was "an illegal action," he noted that "she thought she was doing a good thing for her brother."

"This is not a situation where we're dealing with a large-scale, for-profit endeavour," he said.

Bran asked for a period of structured probation, community service, and a "significant fine" of $2,000.

He said police seized some personal items when his client was arrested and her belongings had not been given back yet.

Judge Christine Gagnon said she was not informed of any seized items. She adjourned the matter to June 22 to deal with the personal items that Bran said were confiscated and to decide on a sentence.