High Times Magazine, the prominent but struggling pot publication, is looking to shift away from its stoner reputation and focus on covering the broader culture as marijuana shifts to the mainstream, says CEO Stormy Simon, who just took the helm last week.
Simon takes over as the 45-year-old company looks to monetize its business, expand its digital footprint, create an online e-commerce marketplace, and make a mark in retail stores as it pivots toward a “physical and virtual” cannabis distribution business, the company said in an SEC filing.
“Cannabis, by nature, has been a subculture,” she said. “So High Times was a part of that, almost carrying that load alone, as far as spreading the word, and now it is a culture of society. Everyone is curious about cannabis, they’re trying it out.”
High Times’ iconic role in cannabis culture and history hasn’t saved it from problems plaguing the media industry. In December, Hightimes Holdings, the magazine’s parent company, disclosed in an SEC filing it may have to shut down operations due to “recurring operating losses, net operating cash flow deficits, and an accumulated deficit.” In the preceding months, a spate of negative headlines foreshadowed the news. The company lost a 3-month-old chief financial officer amid a challenging initial public offering and laid off a majority of employees at subsidiary Dope Magazine.
Such was the state of the company when Simon, formerly of e-commerce retailer Overstock, took the helm.
On Tuesday, she seemed undeterred: “We’re the oldest startup I’ve ever seen. Any startup has concerns.”
Though she said the company is “always concerned” with potential obstacles as federal legalization remains out of reach, “we’re a part of the industry, a big part of it, with a big brand and so we plan to push that even harder,” she said.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
Scott Trench, host of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, explores how recent rate cuts, high borrowing costs, and mortgage rates are reshaping U.S. real estate.
A look into how disruption, AI, and global economic trends are transforming the modern supply chain with Jeremy Jansen, Head of Supply Chain at Wells Fargo.
Delta CSO Amelia DeLuca reveals at the Fast Co. Innovation Festival how tech, sustainable aviation fuel, and smart operations are revolutionizing air travel.
Chipmaker Nvidia will invest $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a partnership that will add at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia AI data centers to ramp up the computing power for the owner of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
Two of the nation’s biggest real estate services companies are combining in a deal that will bring Century 21, Compass and several other major brokerage brands under the same umbrella.
