"Hollyweed" Prank Prompts Tighter Security Going Forward

The organization that handles maintenance for the iconic Hollywood sign has vowed to improve security following a prank this past weekend where it was changed to say "Hollyweed."

Chris Baumgart, the chairman for the Hollywood Sign Trust, told The Hollywood Reporter that the latest prank demonstrates that "there are opportunities to make improvements" in the area of security.

"We will be deploying additional technology to tighten up surveillance and thus deter unwanted visitors in the future," he explained. "This is more than preventing pranks or trespassing at the sign. Our concern is the safety of the neighborhood and the trespassers that put themselves at risk because it is extremely unsafe to be on the sign, let alone traversing the treacherous hillside that is home to those 9 famous letters."

Currently, the sign is monitored by the LAPD with a camera system. First installed in 1994, the security system has been updated "several" times since then, according to THR. The person or group responsible for the prank committed a trespassing violation, an LAPD officer told the site, but no one has been arrested as of yet.

Workers restored the Hollywood sign to its normal look by Monday morning.

In 1976, then-student Daniel Finegood altered the sign to say Hollyweed for an art project. He was not arrested.

In November 2016, California residents voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.