Idaho Mile Marker 419.9 Joins Colorado/Washington In Preventing Theft By 420 Weed Smokers

It could be said that Idaho mile marker 419.9 is just one of the signs of the times. The state government actually changed the Idaho 420 mile marker sign in order to prevent people from stealing the 420 signs for their weed smoking collection.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, it is believed that legalizing marijuana in California could increase state pot prices.

The Idaho mile marker 419.9 was set up mostly in order to stop the rash of thievery. In 2015 alone, thieves ran off with two of the 420 mile marker signs along U.S Highway 95. Officials are worried this rate will only increase over time.

“It was a decision we made based on what was happening,” Idaho Transportation Department spokesman Adam Rush said of that state’s recent switch to the Idaho mile marker 419.9 signs. “Having a sign removed from a highway is pretty rare. In Idaho, people will shoot at them or write on them before stealing them completely. We spend more time mending signs than replacing them.”

The Idaho mile marker 419.9 sign is actually not the first of its kind. Washington state’s 420 mile marker was also replaced with a less tempting target for the stoner crowd. Ever since 2012, when pot was legalized in Washington, state road crews have struggled to keep the milepost 420 signs along Route 20 and U.S. 12. The state of Colorado also changed its 420 signs along Interstate 70 to 419.99 last year and ever since then, the rash of thefts evaporated.

“It seems to be working,” Colorado Transportation Department spokeswoman Amy Ford said, according to the Spokesman-Review. “We’re very pleased.”

So, why a 420 sign? There are many stories surrounding the marijuana 420 history, a man named Waldo Steve claims he came up with the term first back in the fall of 1971. A California Coast Guard service member apparently could no longer tend to his marijuana plants, so the guys would gather at 4:20 in order to hunt for free weed. Eventually, the term began to spread and caught fire.

“I could say to one of my friends, I’d go, 420, and it was telepathic. He would know if I was saying, ‘Hey, do you wanna go smoke some?’ Or, ‘Do you have any?’ Or, ‘Are you stoned right now?’ It was kind of telepathic just from the way you said it,” Steve said, according to the Huffington Post. “Our teachers didn’t know what we were talking about. Our parents didn’t know what we were talking about.”

So, now you know why they had to implement the Idaho mile marker 419.9 sign. What do you think about marijuana legalization in America?

[Image via Reddit]