CALIFORNIA’S decision to legalize weed last year apparently left some LA pranksters in high spirits over New Year’s Eve, as the Hollywood sign was altered to read “HOLLYWEED.”

    Social media in the area was abuzz as locals shared photos of the altered sign with the tag #Hollyweed.

    But the alteration might be more than a mere joke — it echoes a near-identical alteration made exactly 41 years ago by then-art student Danny Finegood.

    On Jan. 1, 1976, Cal State Northridge student Danny Finegood used a US$50 pair of curtains to make an identical amendment to the sign.

    The “environmental sculpture” — made the same year that California relaxed its marijuana laws, earned him an A grade, The Cannabist reported last year.

    The team also amended it to “Holywood” for Easter 1976; to Ollywood to protest Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North amid the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987; and to “Oil War” during the Persian Gulf War in 1990.

    Feingood and his pals defended his work against claims that it was vandalism in a letter to The Times in 1983.

    “We broke no laws and did no damage to the sign,” they wrote in a letter.

    “An artist’s role throughout history has been to create representations of the culture he exists in. By hanging four relatively small pieces of fabric on the landmark, we were able to change people’s perception of the Hollywood sign.”

    Finegood died of multiple myeloma in January 2007 at age 52. Though this latest alteration appears to be inspired by his work, it’s not known if there is a direct connection.

    As Californians awoke — or left house parties — Sunday morning, social media lit up with photos and chatter about the prank.

    A spokesperson for the LAPD said that a lone male was caught on surveillance footage climbing the mountain with colored tarp at around 3 a.m. He then scaled the scaffolding at the back of the letters and draped the tarp over them to transform them.

    The figure — who was dressed all in black — then jumped down and ran off the mountain.

    The change wasn’t spotted by police until 5 a.m., when officers noticed the amendments, the spokesperson said.

    If the prankster is caught they will be charged with misdemeanor trespassing, he added.

    Workers began taking down the tarps at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday.(SD-Agencies)