High Times

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox magazine High Times was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand)<ref name=Slate /> that advocates the legalization of cannabis<ref name=Nation2013 /> as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.<ref name=Danko>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The magazine had its own book publishing division, High Times Books, and its own record label, High Times Records.

From 1974 to 2016, High Times was published by Trans-High Corporation (THC).<ref name=GCD/> Hightimes Holding Corp. acquired THC and the magazine in 2017.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

OverviewEdit

High Times covers a wide range of topics, including politics, activism, drugs, education,<ref name=Nation2013 /> sex, music, and film, as well as photography.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Like Playboy, each issue of High Times contains a centerfold photo; however, instead of a nude woman, High Times typically features a cannabis plant.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=NYMag /> (The magazine, however, often featured women—occasionally crowned as "Ms. High Times"<ref name=NYT2009 />—on the cover to help newsstand sales.)<ref name=Nation2013 /> In addition, the magazine "published writers like Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, and Truman Capote."<ref name=Nation2013 />

Publication historyEdit

OriginsEdit

Forçade's previous attempt—via the Underground Press Syndicate/Alternative Press Syndicate—to reach a wide counterculture audience of underground papers had failed, even though he had the support of several noteworthy writers, photographers, and artists.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Through High Times, Forçade was able to get his message to the masses without relying on mainstream media.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Forçade was quoted as saying, "Those cavemen must've been stoned, no pun intended."Template:Citation needed

High Times was originally meant to be a joke: a single-issue lampoon of Playboy, substituting marijuana for sex.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Nation2013>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=NYMag /> Brainstorming for the first issue's contents was conducted by a group that included Forcade, Rex Weiner, Ed Dwyer, Robert Singer, A. J. Weberman, Dana Beal, Ed Rosenthal, the underground cartoonist Yossarian a.k.a. Alan Shenker,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Cindy Ornsteen a.k.a. Anastasia Sirocco.<ref name=HT2015>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The first issue, 50 pages in total, with the tagline, "The Magazine of High Society," appeared in the summer of 1974.<ref name=HT2015 /> Advertising for the first issue had been pre-sold at that year's National Fashion and Boutique Show. "High Times #1 made its debut at the June 1974 show and was an instant success, selling out its first run of 10,000 copies and getting reprinted twice."<ref name=HT2015 />

The magazine's first editor was Ed Dwyer, who had earlier written the text of the Woodstock music festival program booklet (as well as the Woodstock film program booklet).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The magazine was initially distributed by Homestead Book Company<ref name="OurHis">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Big Rapids Distribution.

High Times was at the beginning funded by drug money from the sale of illegal marijuana,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Nation2013 /> But the magazine found an audience, becoming a monthly publication with a growing circulation, and the staff quickly grew to 40 people.Template:When Marijuana hydroponics growers were a large part of the magazine's advertiser base.<ref name=Nation2013 />

Financial struggles and legal battlesEdit

High Times founder Forçade committed suicide in November 1978.<ref name="Torgoff2004">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He bequeathed trusts to benefit High Times and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).<ref name=Danko /> (Forçade had been a supporter of NORML since the organization's founding in 1970.)Template:Citation needed

Following Forçade's death, the magazine was controlled by "mostly by Forçade’s relatives" and lawyer Michael John Kennedy.<ref name=Slate />

Under the editorship of Larry Sloman (from 1979 to 1984),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> the magazine consistently struggled against marijuana prohibition laws, and fought to keep itself alive and publishing in an anti-cannabis atmosphere.<ref name=Nation2013 /> Reflecting the time period, High Times began to feature positive coverage of cocaine as a recreational drug.<ref name=NYMag /><ref name=Nation2013 />

The magazine's former associate publisher, Rick Cusick, said the only way High Times managed to stay in business and never miss a publication date for over four decades was, "Really, really good lawyers, even though everybody knew I was talking about just one—Michael Kennedy."<ref name=":9">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Kennedy served as the general counsel and chairman of the board for High Times for over 40 years until his death in 2016, when his wife and board member, Eleanora Kennedy, took the reins.Template:Citation needed

Mainstream success and the Hager eraEdit

In 1987, High Times was audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation as reaching 500,000 copies an issue, rivaling Rolling Stone and National Lampoon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1988, Steven Hager was hired as the magazine's editor. He changed the focus from the promotion of hard drugs (e.g., cocaine and heroin), and instead concentrated on advocating personal cultivation of cannabis.<ref name=Nation2013 /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hager became the first editor to publish and promote the work of hemp activist Jack Herer.<ref name=WW>Cizmar, Martin. "The Story of One of the Greatest Cannabis Advocates Who Ever Lived and the Strain That Bears His Name: With the closure of Third Eye, the Potlander wanted to revisit the life of Jack Herer," Template:Webarchive Willamette Week (April 18, 2017).</ref>

In 1988, under Hager's leadership, the magazine created the Cannabis Cup, a cannabis awards ceremony held every Thanksgiving in Amsterdam that later expanded to a number of U.S. cities.<ref name=NYMag /> He also formed the High Times Freedom Fighters, the first hemp legalization group.Template:Citation needed The High Times Freedom Fighters were famous for dressing up in Colonial outfits and organizing hemp rallies across the United States. One rally, the Boston Freedom Rally, quickly became the largest marijuana-related political event in the country,<ref name=Nation2013 /> drawing an audience of over 30,00 to the Boston Common in 2013.<ref name=Nation2013 />

The magazine advocated for the widespread use of hemp in the 1990s, publishing a quarterly magazine called Hemp Times and operating a retail location in Manhattan called Planet Hemp.<ref name=Nation2013 />

In 1991, the magazine began featuring celebrities on the cover of the magazine. Over the years, these included Cypress Hill, The Black Crowes, Ziggy Marley, Beavis and Butt-Head, Milla Jovovich, Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan, George Carlin, Ozzy Osbourne, Kevin Smith, Frances McDormand, Pauly Shore, Sacha Baron Cohen, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, and Snoop Dogg.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1997, the magazine and Hager founded the Counterculture Hall of Fame, with inductions held annually on Thanksgiving as part of the Amsterdam Cannabis Cup event.

In the late 1980s Mike Edison began writing "Shoot the Tube," a featured column about television and politics for High Times. In 1998 Edison was named the magazine's publisher, and later took control of the editorial side of the magazine as well. As editor and publisher, he caused a furor among staffers by putting Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne on the cover, and then leaking to the New York PostTemplate:'s Page Six gossip column that thousands of dollars of pot had gone missing from the photo shoot.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After taking the magazine to new heights in sales and advertising,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Edison was instrumental in producing High TimesTemplate:' first feature film, High Times' Potluck.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Edison left High Times in 2001.

In 2000, the magazine established the Stony Awards to recognize and celebrate notable stoner films and television episodes about cannabis. Six High Times Stony Awards ceremonies were held in New York City beginning in 2000, before the Stonys moved to Los Angeles in 2007. Award winners received a bong-shaped trophy.<ref name=TVGuide>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Starting in 2002, the Stonys presented the Thomas King Forçade Award for "stony achievement" in film.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Later developmentsEdit

In 2003, Steven Hager was fired, and High Times' board of directors shifted the magazine's focus from marijuana to more literary content, hiring John Buffalo Mailer as executive editor.<ref name=Slate>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=NYT-Leland>Template:Cite news</ref> As a result, the magazine "lost a third of the circulation in nine months."<ref name=Slate /> Mailer left the magazine within a year<ref name=Slate />—a succession of editors followed, including David Bienenstock, Rick Cusick, and Steve Bloom.<ref name=Bloom>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2004, High Times returned to its roots, releasing the CD High Volume: The Stoner Rock Collection. Hager was rehired, first as the creative director,Template:Citation needed and then in 2006, back to the position of editor-in-chief,<ref name=Bloom /> but by 2009 he had returned to the role of creative director.<ref name=NYT2009>Template:Cite news</ref>

In November 2009, High Times celebrated its 35th anniversary.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the period 2010–2013, the magazine put out a standalone publication that advocated for medical marijuana.<ref name=Nation2013 />

Hager was again let go by the magazine in 2013, eventually successfully suing High Times for defrauding him of his ownership shares in the company.<ref name=CNS>Template:Cite news</ref> Hager subsequently released a 20-part series on YouTube, titled The Strategic Meeting, showing the internal machinations inside the company. The video series asserts that Michael Kennedy stole the company from the rightful employees and subverted the original mission for his own private gain.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref>

In October 2014, the magazine celebrated its 40th anniversary with a party attended by celebrities such as Susan Sarandon.<ref name=NYMag>Coscarelli, Joe. "WEED-STAINED WRETCHES: High Times Hits Middle Age: How the Marijuana Magazine Stays Relevant," Template:Webarchive New York (Oct. 17, 2014).</ref> In 2014, the High Times website was read by 500,000 to five million users each month.<ref name=NYMag /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Relocation to L.A., saleEdit

In January 2017, the magazine announced it would be permanently relocating from New York to Los Angeles.<ref name=":0" /> This followed the legalization of marijuana in several West Coast states, including California.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the summer of 2017, High Times was sold to a group of investors led by Adam Levin<ref name=Slate /> of Oreva Capital for an amount estimated from $42 million<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=CNS /> to $70 million.<ref name=Slate />

High Times acquired cannabis media company Green Rush Daily, Inc. on April 5, 2018.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The deal was valued at $6.9 million. Green Rush Daily founder Scott McGovern joined the magazine as senior executive vice president.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ColumnsEdit

"Almost Infamous" by Bobby Black (2004–2016)—lifestyle and entertainment<ref>"Almost Infamous," High Times website. Retrieved Dec. 23, 2022.</ref>
“Ask Ed: Your Marijuana Questions Answered" by Ed Rosenthal (1980s–1990s)<ref name="emeg">Zamora, Jim Herron. "Pot Growing Icon Takes Raid in Stride," Template:Webarchive. San Francisco Chronicle. 2002-02-25. Retrieved on 2007-08-11. ({{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }})</ref>

"Brain Damage Report" by Paul Krassner (late 1970s–2000s)<ref name=NYT-Leland />
"Cannabis Column" by Jon Gettman<ref name="Column One">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

"Chef Ra's Psychedelic Kitchen" by Chef Ra (Template:Circa 1988–Template:Circa 2003)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
"Sex Pot" by Hyapatia Lee (from 2013)<ref name="5 Questions">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
"The Stoned Gamer" by Alana Evans (from 2014)—gaming<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

"Toasted Tweets" by Jessica Delfino (2016)—weekly cannabis-themed Twitter round-up
"The Stone Cold Cop List" by Jon Cappetta (2020) - monthly collection of newly released products<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ComicsEdit

By 1976, High Times was publishing comics in its pages, by the likes of underground comix creators such as Gilbert Shelton ("The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers"), Kim Deitch, Josh Alan and Drew Friedman, Bill Griffith ("Zippy the Pinhead"), Paul Kirchner ("Dope Rider"), Milton Knight ("Zoe"), Spain Rodriguez ("Trashman"), Dave Sheridan, Frank Thorne, and Skip Williamson ("Snappy Sammy Smoot"). Later, artists like Bob Fingerman and Mary Wilshire contributed comics to High Times as well.<ref name=GCD>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Notable contributors and staff membersEdit

Andrew Weil was a regular contributor to High Times from 1975 to 1983.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> For a time, William Levy served as the magazine's European editor.

In 1976, Bruce Eisner became a contributing editor for the magazine. Chip Berlet was the magazine's Washington, D.C. bureau chief in the Seventies. Jeff Goldberg was an editor in 1978–1979.

Kyle Kushman is a former cultivation reporter for High Times and has been a contributing writer for over 20 years.

Bobby Black had a long association with High Times, from 1994 to 2015,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including being a senior editor<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and columnist. His involvement at High Times included production director and associate art director; writing the monthly lifestyle and entertainment column "Almost Infamous"; writing feature articles and interviews; creator and producer of the magazine's annual Miss High Times beauty pageant;<ref name=NYT2009 /> producer and host of the annual High Times Doobie Awards for music;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> lead reporter, judge, and competition coordinator for the Cannabis Cup and the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup; and A&R, producer, liner notes and art director for High Volume: The Stoner Rock Collection CD (High Times Records).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

At age 19, Zena Tsarfin started as an intern for the magazine.<ref name=CAC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She later returned to High Times, serving as the magazine's managing editor until 2001 and then again from March 2006 to January 2007. From 2014 to 2016, Tsarfin was High Times' director of digital media.

Danny Danko is the magazine's former Senior Cultivation Editor.<ref name=Nation2013 />

The careers of a number of writers/editors from the comics industry overlapped with High Times, including Tsarfin, Josh Alan Friedman (High Times managing editor, 1983), Lou Stathis (High Times editor, late 1980s), Ann Nocenti (High Times editor, 2004), and most significantly, John Holmstrom, who began to work for the magazine as managing editor in 1987, was soon promoted to executive editor, and in 1991 was promoted to publisher and president. In 1996 he stepped aside to launch and oversee the High Times website, and left the magazine for good in 2000.

Andrew James Parker, a.k.a. Chewberto420, is a cannabis photographer and author, based out of the Western United States (predominantly Huntington Beach, California and Pagosa Springs, Colorado), who has made contributions to the magazine since 2016. Parker is known for his images based in macro photography. He discovered naturally occurring purple hash through experimentation with anthocyanins within cannabis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>