For decades, when someone asked you to picture something from Colorado, it was a near-certainty that you’d imagine the Rocky Mountains.
And while those have hardly stopped being a defining feature and point of pride in The Centennial State, Colorado has found a few other footholds into cultural relevance over the years.
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Whether this was desirable for the state residents or not when the show first premiered, the fact that South Park has worn its setting on its sleeve for the last 23 years has certainly created an association between the state and the subversive show’s fans.
But of course, a lot of the state’s more recent reputation centers around the fact that it was one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. And now, the state’s government seems to be making that 4/20-friendly reputation work for it.
Ever since Colorado made the move to open the door for legal cannabis in 2012, it’s seen some clear benefits from the business that built up around the idea.
According to CNN , that momentum led to a record $1.75 billion in related sales for 2019 alone.
And since the state has also made some good money selling the right to use popular license plate configurations — someone paid $20,000 to roll around with an “X” license plate — it seemed it was time to put the two moneymakers together.
So from now until April 20, the state is holding another license plate auction, this time featuring some familiar words and phrases.
If you take a look at the auction’s page , you’ll see options ranging from “BONG,” to “GANJA” to “STASH” to plates showing appreciation for indica and sativa strains.
According to Denver 7 , those bidding on this auction are solely buying the right to use each official plate as standard DMV registration fees still apply.
And although we’re still in the early stages of the auction, some of these plates have already attracted tens of bids pushing prices up into the thousands.
For instance, while the “HERB” plate seems to be going for $440 at the time of this writing, the “ISIT420” plate you see here has attracted a bid of $6,440.
And for those wondering, the $1,300 “INDICA” plate seems to be more popular than the “SATIVA” plate by about three bids and $500.
But while other plates attracting heavy bids like “GANJA,” “BONG,” and “HASH” are predictably popular, there’s one that’s beating all three of them.
Now valued at $2,060 after 100 bids is “TEGRIDY,” a reference to Randy Marsh’s cannabis farm in South Park .
How high that number gets will presumably depend on how many Colorado-based fans catch wind of the auction before 4:20 pm on April 20. Because of course that’s the time it all ends.
If the bidding keeps going at the rate we’ve seen so far, this stunt has the potential to generate tens of thousands of dollars for the state.
And as Colorado Governor Jared Polis told CNN, all of this revenue will end up going to the Colorado Disability Funding Committee.
Likely sensing some spotty implications with the idea, the bidding page includes a disclaimer warning participants not to drive high and to use cannabis responsibly within the state’s legal limits.
Hopefully, the auction ends up proving as beneficial to Coloradans living with disabilities as it seems thus far.
h/t: CNN
