The founder of RAW Rolling Papers is the new owner of the High Times brand. Josh Kesselman and former High Times co-owner Matt Stang last week purchased the magazine, Cannabis Cups, and all associated assets in a $3.5 million all-cash transaction.
In a statement, Kesselman called the acquisition a “‘pinch yourself’ kind of moment.”
“Eighteen-year-old stoner Josh would be in complete disbelief that I get to bring back a piece of history that has played such an important part in culture and impacted so many lives, including my own. This feels like a dream. Having Matt Stang, an OG and a former owner-operator of the magazine, involved in this acquisition just makes it all come full circle. It’s surreal to be a small part of giving back to the community that helped make me.” — Kesselman in a press release
Stang said, “This incarnation of High Times is going to be bigger and better than ever.”
“As an original owner-operator, I’m energized about my partnership with Josh – we’re not just reviving High Times as a news source, we’re positioning it as a guiding light for culture and a definitive authority on all things cannabis and psychedelics,” Stang said in a statement. “At its heart, this is about reigniting the passion of longtime fans while inspiring a new generation to carry the torch forward. It’s about sharing, connection and honoring the culture that we love so dearly.”
As part of the relaunch, the new owners plan to bring back the print magazine in limited-run, collectible editions, reintroduce the Cannabis Cup event series, “with third-party judging” and “zero pay-to-play involvement,” and rebuild the digital platform to host a network of cannabis podcasts, experts, and community voices.
They expect the Cannabis Cup to return next year.
“Our goal is to rebuild the voice of authenticity that defined High Times’ legacy,” Kesselman said, “to cut through the controversy of inaccurate information, create a truly cross-generational community, and restore High Times to its rightful place as an international beacon of counterculture.”
High Times was founded in 1974 but was sold to Hightimes Holding Corp. – a group of investors led by Oreva Capital Founder Adam Levin in 2017. The following year, the company initiated a Regulation A (Reg A) public offering, allowing non-institutional investors to purchase shares directly, which aimed to generate up to $50 million to support the company’s expansion plans, including acquisitions and a potential public listing. However, by June 2019, the company had raised only $15 million and in July 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ordered a halt to the High Times IPO after the company missed its annual report deadline. The company announced several moves – acquiring cannabis magazine DOPE (and subsequently firing many of its employees) and planning a chain of dispensaries – but last year announced a deal to sell all of its intellectual property to Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc., a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Nasdaq-listed company with holdings and operations in a variety of psychotropic businesses.
In January, Levin pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges involving undisclosed payments to a stock analyst. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Levin participated in a scheme to pay over $150,000 to an investment newsletter analyst who promoted Hightimes’ stock without disclosing the compensation.
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