In a bummer move, Idaho will no longer use mile markers with the number 420, opting instead for signs with a weirdly accurate 419.9. The 420 mile marker on Route 95 was the repeated target of stoner thieves and vandals. (The number 420, for reasons of varying provenance in stoner lore, has long been associated with marijuana.) Idaho Transportation Department’s Adam Rush says that in general more signs are vandalized than stolen. “Having a sign removed from a highway is pretty rare,” Rush said. “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 department didn’t want to leave the milepost empty because the signs can be valuable for drivers tracking their journey,” reports the Associated Press, so they came up with 419.9 instead. The decidedly ungroovy MILE 419.9 sign is just south of Coeur d’Alene.
