Forty pounds of weed in a federal court room can make a point.
In this case, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk displayed a huge pile of uber-potent marijuana at the Dirksen Federal Building to say this: super pot is super bad.
"Kush" is the street name for a type of marijuana making the suburban rounds with THC levels more than five times higher than pot from the early 1990s. Congressman Kirk stood before nearly $200,000 worth of the drug because he wants stronger penalties for selling it.
"If you make as much money selling pot as cocaine, you should face the same penalties," Kirk said of the marijuana that can go for as much as $600 an ounce.
Kirk was joined Monday by Lake County law enforcement officials, who have seen more "Kush" in recent years. The drug is more potent because of the advances in hydroponics and the control of light, temperature, humidity -- and ultimately, THC levels.
