Giant joint, treadmill for fish highlight ‘Wastebook 2016’

The federal government spent $35,100 to build a “giant marijuana joint” in Colorado.

Highlighted in the annual “Wastebook” report on government spending, the 28-foot joint, which also looks like a smashed car, was funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and built by the Colorado Department of Transportation. The joint was placed on a billboard in downtown Denver to warn motorists about the dangers of driving while high.

But critics question whether the joint, which also glows in the dark, will do more to encourage drug use.

{mosads}

The joint is one of 50 key findings in the 200-page government waste report issued Tuesday by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

Flake’s yearly report found more than $5 billion worth of what he argues is “outrageous and wasteful” spending by the federal government in 2016.

This includes a $1.7 million grant the Commerce Department awarded to Jamestown, N.Y., to build a comedy museum that features holograms of dead comedians.  

“The National Comedy Center is laughing all the way to the bank,” Flake said.

The National Science Foundation spent another $450,000 only to find out dinosaurs most likely couldn’t sing.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services invested $150,000 in a gingerbread house that can “withstand the force of an earthquake.” The National Institutes of Health spent $817,000 to study monkey saliva, while the National Science Foundation spent $560,000 to study fish crawling on a treadmill.

“How does a fish even use a treadmill?” asked Flake.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also lost $74 million by allowing some farmers to repay loans with peanuts. In fact, the government pays so much for peanuts that farmers are growing more than Americans consume, according to the report. Critics say the “nutty program” is inflating the peanut market and driving up costs for consumers.