Cannabis reporter Javier Hasse has been selected to editorially lead High Times. The company's sale to Josh Kesselman was announced three weeks ago.
"He's acting EIC (Editor-in-Chief) right now," Kesseleman texted CelebStoner today. "He agreed to be part of the rebuild team. He's taking over for now and will build a team to run it more permanently."
Hasse confirmed this in a phone call to CelebStoner. He made clear he's the acting EIC and that "a search is ongoing."
One of the leading cannabis journalists, Hasse made his name as managing director of Benzinga Cannabis from 2019 until this past December. He also writes for Forbes and Playboy and co-founded El Planteo. Born in New York, Hasse was raised and still lives in Argentina.
In an article by Hasse posted at High Times' website on July 6, he tipped his special interest in the magazine:
I was 14 when I first held a copy of High Times in my hands. I didn’t just flip through it; I studied it. Absorbed it. Let it rearrange the way I saw the world. This wasn’t a magazine. It was a passport. A mirror. A manifesto.
And now, somehow, it’s back. Not as a brand play or investor flip, but as a cultural revival, led by people shaped by its pages, like I was. No other magazine has done what High Times has. Full stop.
Fifty years of rolling joints, rolling presses, rolling out truths the world wasn’t ready for. This wasn’t a cannabis magazine. It was the magazine. A sacred object passed hand to hand, from dorm rooms to remote fields.
Many wondered who Kesselman and his partner Matt Stang would choose to lead the venerable brand going forward. Would it be a former editor or a newer voice? Kesselman selected the latter.
Founded in 1974 by political activist and pot smuggler Tom Forcade, High Times has ridden the waves of popular culture in America and abroad for six decades. But the last decade was a particular bad one after the company was sold in 2017 and went into major debt under the new ownership team led by Adam Levin. Kesselman, who owns RAW Rolling Papers, purchased Hightimes Holdings for $3.45 million.
After the sale, Kesselman told CelebStoner: "It's not about profits, it's about community. My goal is to break even. We're trying to piece it together in a way that it's relevant for 2025 and beyond."
Hasse shares Kessleman's mission goals, noting the need to "build good will" among former readers and fans of the magazine and company. "We want to restore the old glory. We plan to do right by everyone."
Known for his celebrity coverage, Hasse intends to add that more to the mix. "Celebrities have the power to destigmatize cannabis," he says. "Each celebrity sways a different audience."
Hasse acknowleges how hard it is for cannabis media to survive. Green Market Report and Benzinga are two current examples of outlets that are either out of business or have moved away from cannabis coverage. "The media landscape is dire," he says. "It's heartbreaking to see so many great publications go down."
As far as High Times is concerned, he adds, "Let's rebuild with strong content. So far, everything looks promising."
For writers who want to contact Hasse, his email address is: javierhasse@gmail.com
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