SPRINGFIELD, Illinois -- As lawmakers in Illinois discussed a bill pushing to legalize recreational marijuana, one representative offered a classic visual to show what he thought about the bill.
State Representative Anthony DeLuca, a Democrat from Chicago Heights, took out a frying pan and an egg during his designated speaking time. As he cracked the egg and flopped it into the pan, he gave the traditional sentiments.
"I want to leave an image for you," he said, as he held an egg in the air. "You see this? This is your brain. There it is folks. This is your brain on drugs."
His demonstration was met with some laughter and applause, but the remarks that followed were the opposite.
Representative Bob Morgan, a Democrat from Deerfield called the demonstration "nonsense" and said it was a waste of eggs "that should have been used to make a souffle or something instead of making a ridiculous point that was outdated for 30 years."
He went on to ask the bill's lead sponsor, Representative Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat from Chicago, to talk about public education.
Cassidy said their goal from the beginning was to reduce youth access.
"Teens and young adults are capable of making good decisions when provided with good information," she said. "The idea that we expect our kids to ace the AP bio exam but think that putting an egg in a frying pan is going to tell them what it means to take a substance into their body is ludicrous."
She said they had created a Public Health Advisory Task Force and said they had been and would continue to monitor studies from other states who have taken on legal marijuana.
Lawmakers may take a vote on Friday, May 31, which is the last day of the spring legislative session. If the bill is passed, Illinois would be the 11th state in the union to legalize recreational marijuana. The drug would be available to adults 21 and older; adults would be allowed to possess up to one ounce of marijuana at a time.
