High Times is the cannabis culture magazine Tom Forçade founded in 1974 and the home of the Cannabis Cup. RAW founder Josh Kesselman bought the brand in 2025, and in September 2026 it was publishing daily stories, a podcast network, print issues and Cup competitions set for Massachusetts, Argentina and Puerto Rico.
From a Playboy parody to a counterculture fixture
Forçade launched High Times in 1974 as a one-off lampoon of Playboy, with cannabis in place of centerfolds. The first 50-page issue sold out its 10,000-copy run and was reprinted twice, with Ed Dwyer as founding editor. Over the following decades the magazine ran work by Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski and Allen Ginsberg, plus underground cartoonists Gilbert Shelton and Bill Griffith.
Steven Hager, editor from 1988 to 2003, pointed the magazine squarely at cannabis advocacy and home cultivation. His era also produced the Counterculture Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Stony Awards in 2000.
The Cannabis Cup since 1988
Hager created the Cannabis Cup in 1988 as an annual Thanksgiving awards event in Amsterdam. The competition later moved into U.S. cities as state markets opened, and by 2021 it also ran People’s Choice editions judged by the public. The 2021 Arizona edition, run with Harvest Health & Recreation, opened judging to the Arizona public for the first time.
The 2025 relaunch plan promised third-party judging and zero pay-to-play. The 2026 calendar on hightimes.com lists Massachusetts, Argentina and Puerto Rico, with judge pre-registration open for the Massachusetts Cup.
Receivership, a sale and a relaunch
Trans-High Corporation published High Times from 1974 to 2016, and Hightimes Holding Corp. took over in 2017. The magazine stopped publishing in 2024, and its core assets went through receivership. In June 2025 Kesselman acquired them, and his July 10, 2025 announcement put the all-cash price at $3.5 million, plus $1.85 million in further investment.
His partner is Matt Stang, who joined High Times as an intern in the late 1990s, rose to chief revenue officer and led the Cup’s multi-city expansion before leaving in 2017. Cannabis Business Times and MJBizDaily both reported the $3.5 million deal, while a five-brand rolling paper rundown that ranks RAW first also notes the High Times purchase.
Who runs the masthead in 2026
The about page lists Kesselman as publisher and co-owner, Stang as partner and co-owner, and Javier Hasse as editor-in-chief. The newsroom sums up its mission as “Real journalism, real stories, real culture.” It also promises clear lines between news and analysis.
Late September 2026 coverage shows the range: musicians on cannabis and creativity, results from the Netherlands cannabis pilot, state-by-state price gaps and a profile of founder Tom Forçade.
Podcasts from Kesselman to Kushman
Audio sits at the center of the relaunch. The lineup includes High Times with Josh Kesselman, Higher Times with Kyle Kushman, House of Haze with Javier Hasse, Spitfire Interviews with Shirley Ju and Planted with Sara Payan. The Outlaw Series and Texas Cannabis Chronicles round out the feed.
The culture desk also covers the creator economy around it, including a November 2025 feature on Proper Smoke Network that framed the network as “ESPN meets cannabis.”
Print, the Vault and licensing
The 2025 plan called for print to return as small, collectible runs built on storytelling and archival material. By 2026 the shop sold a print subscription of four quarterly issues alongside single issues and a digital zine. The Vault archive holds 586 digitized back issues from 1974 to 2018.
Licensing is part of the model: the July 2025 announcement named High Times T-shirts and rolling papers made through RAW among the first product deals.
Official channels
Read High Times at hightimes.com, follow @hightimesmagazine on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn.