American magazine High Times sold to a group of investors

The historical magazine High Times, has been sold to a group of investors for $42 million. The investor group is managed by Los Angeles-based investment firm Oreva Capital. The purchase of High Times includes a majority stake in the print magazine, website and Cannabis Cup festivals in the United States.

Adam Levin, director of Oreva Capital, said the magazine was for him «the Coca-Cola of cannabis». He will be the interim CEO whose aim will be to rebuild the brand. The former Trans-High Company (THC) will now be known as High Times Holdings Company (HTHC). «We see the opportunity to create a diversified media company to take High Times from an authority in the cannabis counterculture movement to a modern media company,» he said.

Among the investors who bought the magazine was Damian Marley, son of the famous reggae singer Bob Marley. «When I was in high school, I grew cannabis. Thanks to High Times that I learned to tell the difference between a male and a female plant. It's an honor today to be part of the legacy of the magazine I've been a fan of for years,» he said.

The first issue of High Times magazine in 1974.

Created in 1974 in New York by anonymous journalist, activist and bootlegger Tom Forçade, the magazine was at the center of cannabis culture for decades. Tom Forçade committed suicide in 1978 in his apartment in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. His employees at the time claimed to have used his ashes to roll joints on the roof of the World Trade Center. The magazine then withstood the drug war that persisted in the USA in the 1980s, but went into decline in the 2000s with the development of digital technology, where readers redirected to the website.

High Times was created at the same time as notable magazines such as Rolling Stones or even Playboy. The magazine was rooted in this period of social and political upheaval, and has become an enduring part of American culture.

Mehdi Bautier