High Times

high times

HIGH TIMES GREATS This month, we’re celebrating the 45th anniversary of High Times magazine. High Times crashed the publishing scene in 1974 and became an immediate sensation. The magazine connected with an audience starved for subversive, counterculture journalism (with a decidedly pro-pot agenda). In the early days, HT was one of the only outlets covering culturally relevant celebrities and drug use. And readers couldn’t get enough. Shortly after its debut, High Times was selling on par with Rolling Stone! Consequently, many celebs were featured in the magazine (as both subjects and authors), creating a treasure trove of content. Now, HT is opening up the vault and publishing these celeb-centric features in the online series “High Times Greats.” Read about Timothy Leary’s ultimate trip from the inaugural issue. Learn about John Lennon’s…

45 years and still growing

WHEN I FIRST started working at High Times, in 2006, there was already 32 years of history. This renegade magazine first crashed the publishing scene in 1974, modeling itself after Playboy, but for pot enthusiasts. What could have ended up being a one-off spoof became a legacy publication, now celebrating 45 years because it captured the imagination of its readership, provided badly needed information about a much-maligned plant and was never afraid to speak the truth. Over the years, the magazine has survived thanks to our loyal readers. The connection High Times has forged with its readership is palpable and remarkable. It’s easily the best thing about working here. The events that have unfolded while I’ve been here—11 states and the District of Columbia legalizing cannabis (legalizing cannabis!)—were the dreams of…

high times

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN ADAM LEVIN PRESIDENT AND CEO KRAIG FOX EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MIKE GIANAKOS ART DIRECTOR FRANK MAX SENIOR CULTIVATION EDITOR DANNY DANKO DIGITAL EDITOR CHLOÉ HARPER GOLD STAFF WRITERS AB HANNA TANJA LADEN COPY EDITORS MATTHEW GRACE MIKE DIPAOLA RESEARCH ADVISOR DR. MITCH EARLEYWINE IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST TAYLOR BUSH CHAIRMAN EMERITUS MICHAEL KENNEDY VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT JON CAPPETTA ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MAXX ABRAMOWITZ CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER MATT STANG CONSULTING PUBLISHER MARY C. MCEVOY VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE DAVID NEWBERG CHIEF CANNABIS OFFICER NICO ESCONDIDO VICE PRESIDENT OF EVENTS SAMEEN AHMAD DIRECTOR OF EVENTS MARK KAZINEC SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER LEO RECHETNIAK FOUNDING PUBLISHER/EDITOR THOMAS KING FORÇADE 1945–1978 CONTRIBUTORS MIKE ADAMS, ERIK ALTIERI, PAUL ARMENTANO, JEN BERNSTEIN, ERIK BIKSA, SEAN BLACK, JUSTIN CANNABIS, JESSE FAATZ, FRANCESCA GENNARI, ANDRE GROSSMANN, BRIAN JAHN, K OF TRICHOME TECH, KRYSTAL LAUK, MARK MILLER, HARRY RESIN, CHRIS ROBERTS, MICHAEL SIMMONS…

letters

Donations (Not) Wanted I read [about] schools not accepting monetary donations from marijuana businesses. I do kind of understand their side, because the federal government are assholes when it comes to giving out federal funding. They are very strict. I read somewhere that some companies were donating money secretly to a charity that will accept it and then donate it to the schools. Also, it will probably take time, but I hope they take a lot of that money and create classes [that educate the public about marijuana]. Kelli Oklahoma Brownie Mary I just read the article [on your website] about the Dennis Perone/Brownie Mary Act. I knew Mary from the early ‘80s when she boldly sold brownies right out of her flat near Noe and 15th in San Francisco. We quickly became friends…

whoopi and maya

WHEN WHOOPI GOLDBERG, the acclaimed actor, comedian and co-host of The View, decided she wanted to enter the cannabis industry, she sought out help from her friends at High Times first. She reached out to then HT associate publisher Rick Cusick for advice on creating marijuana-infused products with a focus on the needs of women. Cusick and senior ad rep John McCooe put their heads together and immediately thought of Maya Elisabeth, founder of Om Edibles and winner of many High Times Cannabis Cups for her salves, topicals and edibles—all produced with healing herbs and superfoods as the guiding principle. Cusick brought Whoopi and Maya together and they immediately hit it off. They shared a vision for a brand that would cater to the particular holistic needs of women with an…

the fire this time

THE LIGHTS WENT out in California in early October, intentionally, as it happened. The utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) pulled the plug on select regions as a prophylactic measure to prevent wildfires, which are sometimes caused when high winds knock trees onto power lines and sparks fly. The power did go out, in Humboldt County and elsewhere, affecting some of the world’s best outdoor marijuana farms. For cannabis operations, losing the juice could not have come at a worse time, as the fall harvest was just underway. “We have an extraordinary amount of product coming out of our rural farms right now,” says Terra Carver, executive director of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance. “People are literally sitting outside their freezers to make sure they don’t go off; there’s millions and…