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Two Marijuana Magazines Owned By High Times Suspend Publication Due To Coronavirus
The company behind High Times is temporarily suspending the publication of two print cannabis magazines it owns due to difficulties with the supply chain that have arisen due to the coronavirus outbreak, Hightimes Holding Corp. confirmed to Marijuana Moment on Monday.
Dope Magazine and Culture Magazine are halting circulation amid the pandemic, and six staffers across the media outlets were furloughed. Long-time High Times editor Danny Danko also said on Monday that he was laid off, though that magazine will continue to be published.
“We furloughed the print publishing staff of Dope and Culture till the virus passes,” Hightimes Holding Executive Chairman Adam Levin said in a statement to Marijuana Moment. “Since both mags are distributed through walk up distribution methods (retailers, pharmacies , etc), we made the decision to suspend publishing till then.”
It remains to be seen when the newly enacted suspensions will be lifted given uncertainties with the COVID-19 outbreak. The plan is to return all furloughed employees to their positions once the situation stabilizes, the company said.
Last week, a producer with the John Doe Radio Show posted on Twitter and Facebook that a “reliable source” informed him that High Times Magazine itself would be ending its print circulation for good, but a spokesperson disputed that claim, stating that only Dope and Culture will temporarily cease circulation.
BREAKING: A reliable source has told me High Times Magazine will no longer be circulated in print effective immediately and there were staff laid off with the mag.
I'm sure more info will unfold quickly. If I find out more I will let you know.
— John Doe Radio (@JohnDoeRadio) April 2, 2020
The April edition of High Times Magazine, which has been publishing print content on cannabis culture since 1974, has already been released and the publication will continue to be printed in the months to come, the spokesperson said.
As of Monday, Culture’s website appears to still be accepting subscriptions to its monthly magazine.
The development at Hightimes Holding is one of the latest examples of how industries across the U.S. are being disrupted amid the pandemic.
The cannabis publishing company has gone through several major changes in recent years. In addition to acquiring the trade publications Dope and Culture in 2018, it announced last month that it bought the marijuana cultivation company Humboldt Heritage. That came after High Times announced it will be launching two flagship dispensaries in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Entertainment executive Kraig Fox took over as CEO of Hightimes Holding in April 2019, and he took the helm as the company was in the process of launching a mini initial public offering that has allowed it to raise up to $50 million from individual investors who can purchase stock for a minimum of $99 per share.
Fox resigned within less than a year and former Overstock.com President Stormy Simon took over in January.
“The listing of the company’s stock will give us a trading currency that will assist us in furthering our acquisitional goals,” Levine said in February. “With the lessons, we’ve learned from other operator’s mistakes, great management, and the current state of the industry, now is the time for High Times to thrive!”
Hightimes Holding said in a Securities and Exchange Commission report last year that operating losses and cash flow deficits means that “there is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year from the issuance of the financial statements.”
Outside of the media industry, drug policy reform efforts are also experiencing significant challenges as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
California activists for campaigns to amend the state’s legal cannabis program and legalize psilocybin mushrooms are asking for a digital signature option because they’re unable to conduct in-person collections.
Likewise in Washington, D.C., advocates for a measure to decriminalize psychedelics asked the mayor and local lawmakers to accept online signatures for their ballot petition.
An effort to legalize medical cannabis in Nebraska is facing similar signature gathering challenges. A campaign to legalize cannabis in Missouri is also in jeopardy.
In Oregon, advocates for a measure to decriminalize drug possession and a separate initiative to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic purposes have suspended in-person campaign events amid the pandemic.
Idaho activists announced on Thursday that they are suspending their campaign, though they are still “focusing on distributing petitions through online download at IdahoCann.co and encouraging every volunteer who has downloaded a petition to get them turned in to their county clerk’s office by mail, regardless of how many signatures they have collected.”
North Dakota activists announced last week that they are suspending their campaign put marijuana legalization on the November ballot due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In Arizona, a legalization campaign is petitioning the state Supreme Court to instruct the secretary of state to allow individuals to sign ballot petitions digitally using an existing electronic system that is reserved for individual individual candidates seeking public office.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) conceded on Saturday that it’s unlikely marijuana will be legalized in the state this year because the issue proved too complicated to insert into a budget that passed last week as lawmakers scrambled to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
