According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, half of all Adopt a Highway signs are being sponsored by marijuana-related businesses.

As part of the Adopt a Highway program, businesses pay to cover the cost of keeping a stretch of highway clean, including helping to pay for trash and graffiti removal. In return for the payment, the businesses get to put their name and logo on a sign located somewhere along the portion of the highway they’re sponsoring.

The Colorado Department of Transportation says that out of around 160 of these signs located across the state, about 80 are taken up by marijuana businesses, especially dispensaries and retail outlets. As noted by Rooster Magazine, “Sponsoring half of all highways signs is a giant proportion. Marijuana still makes up less than 1 percent of Colorado’s economy. The grocery business is seven times the size.”

“It’s actually helping us out quite a bit with all the trash debris we’ve have around the metro area.” says Al Martinez, spokesperson at the Department of Transportation.

“We can’t really have outdoor billboards, but we can have our names on these CDOT signs,” said Olivia Mannix, founder of CannaBrands. “Cannabis marketers have to be extra creative and strategic in all of their marketing efforts”. Adopt a Highway signs, Mannix says, are “just another way for the cannabis industry to show their support for the environment and the wellbeing of the state — as well as getting their brands in front of people.”