Before cannabis culture had social media, digital publications and online communities, High Times helped create a shared language for cannabis, psychedelics, politics and the failures of the drug war.
1974: Tom Forçade's Underground Publishing Experiment
High Times began in 1974 as a one-off spoof created by Tom Forçade. The original nuggnotes account describes Forçade as three things: a radical smuggler; an underground publisher; a prankster. His concept was to create what he called: "playboy for potheads" The idea combined the visual presentation of mainstream magazines with cannabis culture. Forçade bankrolled the project using drug money generated through the underground market. The original account emphasizes that High Times did not begin as a conventional publishing investment.
The First Issue: 10,000 Copies
The first issue was printed in a run of: 10,000 copies. According to the original account, issue #1 sold out quickly. The magazine featured glossy photographs of: mushrooms; cannabis buds. The images used a centerfold-style presentation, giving the publication a visual identity unlike traditional underground newsletters. Its tagline was: "the magazine of high society." The first issue established the combination of cannabis imagery, provocative presentation and counterculture that would define High Times.
Funded by Colombian and Mexican Brick
The financial foundation of High Times came from cannabis smuggling. According to the original account, Forçade funneled money generated through smuggling Colombian and Mexican brick cannabis. High Times was among the publications supported by that money. The caption emphasizes the unusual nature of its funding: No investors, just kilos. The magazine's financial foundation was therefore directly connected to the underground cannabis economy. Rather than receiving conventional investment, the publication was financed through the trade it would document.
The Founding Crew: Forçade's New York City Loft
The original account identifies a group of activists, counterculture figures and writers who helped found the magazine. The founding crew included: Ed Dwyer; Rex Weiner (@rexweiner); Dana Beal; Yossarian; Cindy Ornsteen; Ed Rosenthal (@edrosenthal420). According to the caption, they laid the first blueprint at Forçade's New York City loft. This group helped establish the publication's early direction and editorial identity, connecting underground activism, writing, cannabis culture and alternative publishing.
1978: One Million Copies Per Issue
By 1978, High Times had grown into a major counterculture publication. The original account states that it was pushing: one million copies per issue. The magazine was appearing in: head shops; newsstands; college dormitories. Its glossy and subversive style helped it reach audiences far beyond its original underground readership. By this point, High Times had become deeply embedded in cannabis lore.
Beyond Cannabis: Psychedelics, Politics and the Drug War
High Times was never limited to flower photography and cultivation. The original account identifies several subjects covered by the magazine: psychedelics; politics; grow tips; dealer profiles; the failures of the drug war. The editorial approach brought together information, entertainment and political criticism. The caption characterizes the publication as: Gonzo, outlaw and educational. That combination helped distinguish High Times from conventional media. It documented a culture that was frequently excluded from mainstream publications while providing practical information.
1978: The Death of Tom Forçade
Forçade died by suicide in 1978. According to the original account, he left behind a vision, a publishing blueprint and a trust. The caption states that the publication continued under activists and lawyers he had handpicked. His death marked the end of his direct involvement, but not the end of High Times. The trust and the people he selected helped carry the publication forward.
The 1980s and 1990s: The Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam
High Times eventually expanded beyond publishing. In November 1988, Steven Hager — hired as editor-in-chief that year — launched the: Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. (The original account credits an editor identified as @littlephoenix420; every documented source names Hager as the founder, and the first Cup was won by Skunk #1.) The event represented an important development in the magazine's identity. High Times was no longer simply a publication documenting cannabis culture. It had become involved in organizing an international cannabis competition. The original account describes this period as the transformation from an underground zine into a global brand. The Cannabis Cup gave the magazine a direct role in the wider cannabis industry and its international community.
Fifty Years Later: The Original DNA Remains
The original account closes by looking at High Times approximately 50 years after its founding. Despite the changes in cannabis culture, publishing and the industry, the caption says its original DNA stayed intact. Three principles are identified: plant freedom; anti-censorship; connoisseur cannabis. These values connected the magazine's underground beginnings with its later international identity.
Legacy: From Underground Spoof to Global Cannabis Institution
High Times began in 1974 when Tom Forçade created a one-off publication he called "Playboy for potheads," bankrolled with drug money. The first 10,000 copies sold out quickly, featuring glossy, centerfold-style photographs of mushrooms and cannabis buds under the tagline "the magazine of high society." Forçade financed the publication by funneling money from Colombian and Mexican brick cannabis smuggling — no investors, just kilos. Ed Dwyer, Rex Weiner, Dana Beal, Yossarian, Cindy Ornsteen and Ed Rosenthal helped establish its original blueprint at Forçade's New York City loft. By 1978, High Times was reportedly distributing one million copies per issue through head shops, newsstands and college dorms. Its coverage included psychedelics, politics, grow tips, dealer profiles and the failures of the drug war — gonzo, outlaw and educational. Forçade died by suicide in 1978, leaving a trust and a publication that continued under activists and lawyers he handpicked. In 1988, editor-in-chief Steven Hager launched the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam — the first, held that November, was won by Skunk #1 — helping transform the zine into a global brand. Fifty years after its founding, the original account identifies plant freedom, anti-censorship and connoisseur cannabis as its intact DNA.
Sources
nuggnotes (@nuggnotes). "High Times: The Mag That Lit the Lore." Instagram, June 23, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DLQqgEshgGs/
The original Instagram post behind this article.
Wikipedia. "High Times." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Times
The reference spine for this article, and it backs most of the caption: Tom Forçade founded the magazine in 1974 as a single-issue Playboy lampoon; the first issue ran 50 pages under the tagline "The Magazine of High Society," debuted June 1974, and sold out a first run of 10,000 copies before two reprints; it was funded at the start by illegal marijuana money; Forçade died by suicide in November 1978 and bequeathed trusts benefiting High Times and NORML, after which control passed mostly to his relatives and attorney Michael John Kennedy; and in 1988 newly hired editor Steven Hager created the Cannabis Cup, held each Thanksgiving in Amsterdam.
Stroup, Keith. "A Founder Looks at 50: Tom Forcade, Michael J. Kennedy and High Times Magazine." NORML, May 29, 2020. https://norml.org/blog/2020/05/29/a-founder-looks-at-50-high-times/amp/
A participant's account from NORML's founder: it documents Forçade (born Gary Goodson) as a large-scale marijuana smuggler who moved to boats and planes, returned to smuggling after 1972, and funded NORML and the magazine from that world — including an apartment filled floor-to-ceiling with bales. It says the magazine doubled circulation with each issue until it sold almost a million copies a month, dates his death to November 16, 1978 at age 33, and confirms the magazine then ran under his longtime attorney Michael J. Kennedy, who remained in charge until 2016.
Wikipedia. "Cannabis Cup." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_Cup
Settles the Cup's founding precisely: inaugurated November 1988 in Amsterdam, sponsored by High Times, with founder listed as Steve Hager; the first winner was Skunk #1 from Cultivator's Choice, and Amsterdam hosted the flagship through 2014. This is the documented record against which the caption's Cup credit must be measured.
Wikipedia. "Steven Hager." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Hager
Corroborates the founder credit from the biographical side: Hager was hired as High Times editor-in-chief in 1988, shifted the magazine away from hard-drug coverage toward personal cultivation, and under his leadership High Times created the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam and the High Times Freedom Fighters. His editor tenure ran 1988–2003 and again from 2006 — squarely the period the caption assigns to someone else.
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