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You are here: Home / Humorous / The Legal Marijuana Crime Wave

The Legal Marijuana Crime Wave

by John Cole|  January 11, 20141:48 pm| 56 Comments

This post is in: Humorous

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They warned us that legal pot would lead to a crime wave, and they were right:

Colorado officials are hoping the difference of one-hundredth of a mile will curb thefts of highway markers after the 420 mile marker sign along Interstate 70 was targeted multiple times.

Amy Ford of the Colorado Department of Transportation says the “MILE 420” sign near Stratton was stolen for the last time sometime in the last year, and officials replaced it with a sign that says “MILE 419.99.”

Here’s the history of 420. BTW, I haven’t heard anyone cheer at 7:14 during a game or event for decades, so I guess those guys have all but died off.

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Reader Interactions

56Comments

  1. 1.

    mtraven

    January 11, 2014 at 1:53 pm

    Veterans of the storming of the Bastille?

  2. 2.

    Zam

    January 11, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    I must admit I would be more inclined to steal a sign that said 419.99 than one that said 420.

  3. 3.

    max

    January 11, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    the 420 mile marker sign along Interstate 70 was targeted multiple times.

    No surprise. They used to constantly steal the duck Xing signs near my house.

    @Zam: I must admit I would be more inclined to steal a sign that said 419.99 than one that said 420.

    It would be awesome if they’d put up a ‘MILE 2.718281828’ marker.

    max
    [‘Too cool for bureaucracy.’]

  4. 4.

    smintheus

    January 11, 2014 at 1:58 pm

    Why didn’t they simply install a video cam and fine the bejeezus out of the thieves? No need for speed traps with a steady supply of potential revenue like this.

  5. 5.

    WereBear

    January 11, 2014 at 2:00 pm

    Frat boy crime. Isn’t it an All-American tradition to ignore such?

  6. 6.

    PaulW

    January 11, 2014 at 2:04 pm

    Here’s an idea: the state of Colorado can print and sell those signs. Sure, they’ll still have some jokers trying to steal it, but there’s hundreds more who’ll buy one…

  7. 7.

    PaulW

    January 11, 2014 at 2:04 pm

    @smintheus:

    Why didn’t they simply install a video cam and fine the bejeezus out of the thieves? No need for speed traps with a steady supply of potential revenue like this.

    ‘Cause the thieves will steal the video cam. Think this through…

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    January 11, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    @max:

    It would be awesome if they’d put up a ‘MILE 2.718281828′ marker.

    No, it would be natural.

    (Sorry for the attempted nerd “humour.”)

  9. 9.

    Graham

    January 11, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    Id pay $25 for a 714….$50 for a Rorer instead of a Lemon…Stale or not….just for old times sake. Not dead yet….

  10. 10.

    tybee

    January 11, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    we once had a cat named 714.
    called it 7 for short.
    then we got a second cat.
    named it 6 because it was smaller.

    and that reminds me of a joke that used to get our 6 year old to cackle wildly:
    why is 6 afraid of 7?
    because 7 8 9

  11. 11.

    HinTN

    January 11, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    @SFAW: Hell, I was gonna simply it to e

  12. 12.

    c u n d gulag

    January 11, 2014 at 2:15 pm

    To whoever the idiot is/was who thought the signs were stolen by pot smokers because 420 represents Hitler’s birthday, well, of course you’re right – because people who smoke pot are notorious for being white supremacists and Fascists.

    I couldn’t have been REAL white supremacists and Fascist wannabe’s! No, it was pot smoking Fascists!

    Sheesh…

  13. 13.

    Arm The Homeless

    January 11, 2014 at 2:16 pm

    Tru-fact:

    One time a Jefferson County, CO sheriff pulled me over and found my stash and a pipe. The cop remarked how nice my piece was, made me break it, dump my bag and sent me home.

    That was a nice LEO.

    FIN.

  14. 14.

    jnfr

    January 11, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    Still working my second crop of state-legal home-grown. I’ve lived in Colorado since 1990 and I love it here. Now I love it here even more.

  15. 15.

    Warren Terra

    January 11, 2014 at 2:25 pm

    Thread needs more “milestone” puns.

  16. 16.

    SFAW

    January 11, 2014 at 2:26 pm

    OK, I admit I’m out of touch, but the only 714 reference I can think of is Babe Ruth’s home runs. Anyone care to help the light dawn on Marblehead?

  17. 17.

    shelly

    January 11, 2014 at 2:30 pm

    Six people were hospitalized with bad vibes.

  18. 18.

    Warren Terra

    January 11, 2014 at 2:31 pm

    @SFAW:
    Urban Dictionary would appear to have you covered:

    714
    slang term for quaaludes due to the markings that Rorer and them Lemmon pharmaceutical companies put on the tablets.

  19. 19.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    January 11, 2014 at 2:31 pm

    @SFAW: ‘ludes, man – I think.

    HTH.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  20. 20.

    James Gary

    January 11, 2014 at 2:34 pm

    According to Wikipedia, 714 (being the number stamped on each pill) was slang for Quaaludes:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/714_%28disambiguation%29

  21. 21.

    Ruckus

    January 11, 2014 at 2:36 pm

    All the 714 dudes are asleep. And have been for a very long time.

  22. 22.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 11, 2014 at 2:37 pm

    That asshat Chancellor at the University of Colorado INSURED that 4/20 celebrations would intensify by drawing attention to it and hoping that something could be done about it.

    Moran. Or double agent for the stoners. You call it.

  23. 23.

    TriassicSands

    January 11, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    Theft of a highway mile marker is clearly a case of domestic terrorism and should be dealt with by Homeland Security, water-boarding, and life imprisonment in Gitmo. Zero tolerance!

  24. 24.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 11, 2014 at 2:40 pm

    @max:

    Here in Tracktown USA, they were going to number the local Beltline Highway “OR 69”. Then someone pointed out to them how Indiana has a hell of a time with I-69 signs.

    So they decided that it would be OR 569 instead.

  25. 25.

    bewleys

    January 11, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    Thanks for that link, to huffpo.
    Don’t go there anymore, I would have missed the “Princess Leia” pics.

  26. 26.

    Schlemizel

    January 11, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    funny, posted a comment about the trouble Fucking, Austria had with their city signs being stolen. They finally went with welded signs buried in cement. But FYWP eatted it I guess

  27. 27.

    geg6

    January 11, 2014 at 2:46 pm

    Ugh. Luudes were the worst. Never understood why people liked that shit. Someone slipped one into my beer and my BF’s beer back in the late 70s/early 80s and I was furious when I finally straightened up. That shit sucked.

    Always did and always will prefer the wacky weed. I’m not one that likes being completely out of control. Just looking for some relaxation, same way I use alcohol. Never stronger than beer and wine and drink it in moderation.

  28. 28.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 11, 2014 at 2:49 pm

    OT, but the stopped clock theory gets another point in its favor from Noisemax:

    Dick Morris: Christie’s in a Trap

    That smell you’re picking up, Dick? It’s not Miss Kim’s feet. It’s Christie’s crusts burning.

  29. 29.

    muddy

    January 11, 2014 at 2:55 pm

    @geg6: In high school in the 70’s we used to laugh over the re-runs of Dragnet because his badge number was 714, and we said it was code for why he was so blasé.

    A guy I knew took 4 ‘luudes one day at school and at lunch he was drinking out of a milk carton and it was just running out of his mouth onto his chest as fast as it went in. He didn’t even notice and everyone laughed at him. I’m with you, it’s a shitty high. You look stupid and you feel stupid.

    Now I sound like that gimlet eyed prick Morning Joe. Maybe he protests so much because everyone thinks his eyes are like that from smoking pot.

  30. 30.

    Baud

    January 11, 2014 at 2:57 pm

    @SFAW:

    It would be awesome if they’d put up a ‘MILE 2.718281828′ marker.

    No, it would be natural.

    And log-ical.

  31. 31.

    Citizen_X

    January 11, 2014 at 3:04 pm

    @Baud: But also irrational.

  32. 32.

    scav

    January 11, 2014 at 3:04 pm

    I’m rather impressed at how quickly after legalization that dreaded drug-fueled crime wave was able to self-assemble and take out the critical sign repeatedly. ONE) wouldn’t the assumed perps still be laid out in a glow of celebration and not quite that focused drive for pillage unless it involved foodstuffs and TWO) there’s no way a roads dept would be able to replace them that quickly for repeat thefts.

  33. 33.

    Baud

    January 11, 2014 at 3:05 pm

    @Citizen_X:

    We could do this for e-ternity.

  34. 34.

    scav

    January 11, 2014 at 3:07 pm

    @Baud: But would you repeat yourselves?

  35. 35.

    Citizen_X

    January 11, 2014 at 3:08 pm

    I think they also changed the number of Route 666, out in the Arizona/California border region, because its signs kept getting stolen.

    Or, because obnoxious people kept singing Highway to Hell in front of it. One of those two.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    January 11, 2014 at 3:11 pm

    @scav:

    No. There is a limit as we approach that point.

  37. 37.

    Corner Stone

    January 11, 2014 at 3:12 pm

    @Citizen_X:
    On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
    Warm smell of carnitas, rising up through the air

  38. 38.

    Citizen_X

    January 11, 2014 at 3:14 pm

    On-topic, I can’t wait till Washington gets its stores going this spring. Then we can try to change the “narrative” from “lol Colorado stoners hurr hurr,” to “Huh. Another state legalizes, and the world is still here.”

    Normalizing (NORMLizing?) it, making it boring, is key.

  39. 39.

    James E. Powell

    January 11, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    @Zam:

    I must admit I would be more inclined to steal a sign that said 419.99 than one that said 420.

    Me too. And I was thinking of the line, ” . . . but for you, 419.99″

  40. 40.

    Baud

    January 11, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    I wonder if some enterprising young civil engineer will measure to see if the new marker is .01 miles closer.

  41. 41.

    Ben Franklin

    January 11, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    Bloomimngbirds…

    Standing in the way, Kilmer and economists say, are variables including state tax policies, the shifting behavior of buyers and sellers, and contradictory drug laws nationwide. In Colorado, where authorities have levied a 15 percent wholesale and 10 percent retail tax on marijuana transactions, the price of legal commercial-grade pot has doubled to $400 an ounce since the start of the year, says Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. That’s twice the price for medical marijuana at state dispensaries that require a doctor’s prescription. On the black market, high-grade offerings are fetching $156 to $250 an ounce, according to data compiled by Narcotic News.

    With over $5 million in sales the first week seems like a lot, wait until the the Revenuers get wind of the potential. It’s starting at 25%…do I hear 35?

  42. 42.

    Ben Franklin

    January 11, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Washington State is like over 100% . Certainly higher than during Prohibition.

  43. 43.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    January 11, 2014 at 3:33 pm

    The “Ragged Ass Road” sign in Yellowknife NWT was stolen so many times the sign was welded to the post.

    I wonder how many times that the signs have been stolen in Dildo, NL or Climax, SK – who knows they might have wound up in a museum in Blue Ball, PA.

  44. 44.

    Anoniminous

    January 11, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    @SFAW:

    I’ll give you an e for the effort.

  45. 45.

    Ben Franklin

    January 11, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Study-Washington-No-1-in-liquor-taxes-4944560.php

    I see a lot of bullshit about tax on liquor in Washington. In 2012, the price for a 5th of Jack Daniels was 16.99 in Ca, $25 in Ore. and $47 in Washington from my own experience.

  46. 46.

    Calming influence

    January 11, 2014 at 3:43 pm

    Seriously, I was not surprised when many Juicers (including myself) recognized 714 right away. But like Bobo, we are now responsible adults who have put away our childish ways. (I mean, we have have, right? I’m not missing out on anything, am I?)

  47. 47.

    Calming influence

    January 11, 2014 at 3:45 pm

    @max: [Euler?…….Euler?……….]

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2014 at 3:49 pm

    @WereBear: Not everywhere. Certainly not in indiana where my niece got arrested and charged for stealing a street sign with a couple other people in her sorority. She had to jump through a whole bunch of legal hoops in order to get that expunged so she could get into law school. Even AFTER they had expunged it, they hadn’t really expunged it, so she had a lot of explaining to do when she applied to law school.

    @Villago Delenda Est: My sister graduated high school in 1069 and they wouldn’t even put the year on the class rings.

  49. 49.

    SFAW

    January 11, 2014 at 3:53 pm

    @Warren Terra: and others ..

    Thanks.

    Teh Google … how does that work?

    Apparently, I am not aware of all Internet traditions. Which, I suppose, is good news for John McCain.

  50. 50.

    cckids

    January 11, 2014 at 3:57 pm

    My son’s Scout troop’s number was 420. Much humor resulted, always.

  51. 51.

    Corner Stone

    January 11, 2014 at 3:59 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    My sister graduated high school in 1069 and they wouldn’t even put the year on the class rings.

    ***backs away slowly…slowwwlllyy***

  52. 52.

    James E. Powell

    January 11, 2014 at 4:06 pm

    Last night I watched an animated movie of Cheech & Chong’s routines from their several albums. I had forgotten how much drugs and drug culture were celebrated back in the day.

  53. 53.

    SFAW

    January 11, 2014 at 4:06 pm

    @Baud: @Anoniminous:

    I’m half expecting Tom Levenson to chime in with his employer’s cheer (they haven’t had a real fight song since who-knows-when):

    “e to the u, du/dx
    e to the x, dx
    Cosine! Secant! Tangent! Sine!
    3 point 1 4 1 5 9
    Square root! Integral! u dv!
    Slipstick! Slide rule! M I T!”

    (Disclaimer: some wankers have said that the penultimate line is actually “Integral! Radical! mu dv!” Who knows?)

    ETA: And, no, I don’t want to hear about Godiva riding through Coventry. You nerds.

  54. 54.

    snoey

    January 11, 2014 at 4:24 pm

    710 is the new 420.

  55. 55.

    KyCole

    January 11, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    @geg6: Agree. Someone gave me one at a party in college (1976), and I had to go home to bed.

  56. 56.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    @Corner Stone: oops, that was 1969.

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