High Times: Riding a Wave of Reformation
When High Times launched in 1974 its content and advocacy mission wasn’t all that different from today. Of course, today, marijuana legislation has repositioned the brand as an established and legitimate voice of the reform movement.
In the wake of all the rapid changes circling around marijuana reform—discourse, policy, economics and perceptions—High Times has had to play a little bit of catch up. In this case that isn’t a bad thing. More advertisers are looking to align themselves with the brand. So much so, that a typical issue runs 60-70 ad pages.
“We increased our book size when everyone else is decreasing,” publisher Mary McEvoy says. “We are referring to ourselves as a 40-year-old startup, and have been asking how we capitalize on all this because we could explode in the next few years and may not even be able to recognize ourselves. That’s kind of scary, but we have to stay true to ourselves and not try to be everything to everybody.”
As more states continue to change or soften their laws—in some cases totally legalizing what is federally considered a Schedule 1 Narcotic—High Times stands to benefit. Which is why leveraging its community is its big bet for 2015.
McEvoy admits that she and her team are looking into a lot of different opportunities—films, books better digital products—but live events will be a no brainer as the brand looks to grow.
“We started an events division and each year has gotten bigger.” McEvoy says. “This year we did six and next year it will be eight. We want to expand the experience of the brand.”