Founded in 1974, High Times rose to prominence as an underground icon. In recent years, the brand fell into receivership, leaving its future uncertain. Josh Kesselman, Founder of RAW Rolling Papers, has personally purchased High Times and its associated assets in an all-cash transaction. Kesselman wants the rebirth of High Times to galvanize the cannabis community and reinvigorate the interest of newer generations in this incredible culture and its legends.Courtesy of Just Jessse[PRESS RELEASE] – PHOENIX, June 17, 2025 – High Times, the single most recognized brand in counterculture, cannabis and psychedelics, has been resurrected and is set to resume publication, Cannabis Cups and the rebuilding of a free-thinking counterculture community.

Josh Kesselman, the entrepreneur and founder of RAW Rolling Papers, has personally purchased exclusively the magazine, Cannabis Cups and associated assets in an all-cash transaction. Alongside partner and former 2000s-era High Times co-owner Matt Stang, this $3.5 million acquisition revives the publishing powerhouse that featured counterculture legends like Charles Bukowski, Willie Nelson, Debbie Harry, Hunter S. Thompson and Bob Marley.

Founded in 1974, High Times rose to prominence as an underground icon. In recent years, the brand fell into receivership, leaving its future uncertain. Kesselman wants its rebirth to galvanize the cannabis community and reinvigorate newer generations’ interest in this incredible culture and its legends.

“This is a ‘pinch yourself’ kind of moment for me, just unbelievable,” Kesselman said. “Eighteen-year-old stoner Josh would be in complete disbelief that I get to bring back a piece of history that has played such an important part in culture and impacted so many lives, including my own. This feels like a dream. Having Matt Stang, an OG and a former owner-operator of the magazine, involved in this acquisition just makes it all come full circle. It’s surreal to be a small part of giving back to the community that helped make me.”

High Times will soon be relaunched as a comprehensive platform serving as a hub for information and connection, mixing legacy with modern relevance. Plans include:

• Relaunching the print magazine in limited-run, collectible editions.
• Reintroducing the iconic Cannabis Cup event series, with third-party judging and zero pay-to-play involvement, returning legitimacy to the industry’s most revered competition.
• Rebuilding the digital platform to host a curated network of cannabis podcasts, experts and community voices.
• Commemorating the brand’s 50-year legacy and heralding the future of free thinking.
• Protecting the truth of the power of the plant.

“This incarnation of High Times is going to be bigger and better than ever,” Stang said. “As an original owner-operator, I’m energized about my partnership with Josh—we’re not just reviving High Times as a news source; we’re positioning it as a guiding light for culture and a definitive authority on all things cannabis and psychedelics. At its heart, this is about reigniting the passion of longtime fans while inspiring a new generation to carry the torch forward. It’s about sharing, connection and honoring the culture that we love so dearly.”

“Our goal is to rebuild the voice of authenticity that defined High Times’ legacy, to cut through the controversy of inaccurate information, create a truly cross-generational community, and restore High Times to its rightful place as an international beacon of counterculture,” Kesselman said. “And most importantly? HAVE FUN while doing it.”

The first revamped Cannabis Cup is expected to return in early 2026.

A Burlington, Connecticut man was busted for allegedly growing psilocybin mushrooms in a large, commercial-style factory with an estimated $8.5 million in street value. Weston Soule, 21, is accused of allegedly growing millions’ worth of psilocybin mushrooms. He was charged with possession with intent to sell narcotics and the operating of a drug factory.

An unidentified person snitched out Soule, police said. Agents from the DEA Hartford Task force and state police detectives received a tip that suggested a man was operating a clandestine psilocybin mushroom growing operation at a home on Lyon Road.

WFSB Hartford reported that law enforcement agents descended upon Soule’s home on Thursday morning. Once there, authorities said they talked to Soule and saw ventilation equipment throughout the residence that are consistent with psilocybin operations.

Soule led investigators to a detached garage on his property and police found his large mushroom growing operation, where Soule claimed he was simply growing a different type of mushroom.

When Soule initially denied police entry to his home, police submitted a search warrant to New Britain Superior Court, which was granted. Once the search warrant was approved, investigators said they found a large “mushroom factory” with multilevel racks neatly lined up with substrates, inoculation chambers, grains, nutrients, and other supplies. The grow factory contained psilocybin mushrooms in various stages of growth, with an estimated total street value of $8.5 million.

Soule was taken into custody at the scene and transported to state police headquarters in Litchfield, Connecticut where he was processed and charged. Neighbors say a series of factors indicated a grow operation was taking place.

“They were running air conditioners when it was a cold day which didn’t seem right. They had air conditioners in the top windows and front of the house. You also saw more cars there during the day which made it seem like a place of employment rather than someone sleeping there at night,” an eyewitness neighbor told WFSB Hartford.

UNH Criminal Justice Professor and retired FBI agent Kenneth Gray says that’s a usual sign in this operation. “In a marijuana grow house, the house is usually filled with lamps. In this case, mushrooms don’t need a lot of lamps, instead, they need a lot of ventilation,” Gray said.

Soule was held in jail on a $250,000 cash/surety bond and was scheduled to appear for arraignment at New Britain Superior Court on Friday.

Psilocybin Reform in Connecticut

People in Connecticut are also attempting to regulate the cultivation of it legally. In 2021, Dr. Bronner’s pushed for psilocybin reform in Connecticut. New Approach PAC, a lobbyist group, funded $14,000 in 2021 to local firm Grossman Solutions to promote drug policy reform in Connecticut. Dr. Bronner’s is among New Approach’s biggest donors.

CT Insider reported that a task force in Connecticut is examining the efficacy of psilocybin mushrooms for use in therapeutic settings. House Bill 6296, sponsored by Representative Josh Elliot and four other representatives, created a task force responsible for studying the efficacy of psilocybin for a variety of conditions—a key step in legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic purposes. Grossman Solutions will help New Approach engage with Connecticut’s psilocybin task force.

CEO David Bronner is the grandson of company founder Emil Bronner. He said his goal is to free psychedelics, specifically legalization of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes, adding it’s exactly what his grandfather would have done. “The passion of my grandfather was to unite spaceship earth,” Bronner said. “We honor that legacy in different ways,” among them “integration of psychedelic healing in medicine and therapy.” Bronner also said that he believes “psychedelic medicine can really help people heal and wake up, and grapple with pressing problems.”

A pilot program on the benefits of synthetic psilocybin for mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is launching soon at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. 

A study cohort will consist of 50 patients, mostly veterans and first responders, who are with mental health concerns like depression and addiction. Participants will take 25 mg of synthetic psilocybin, and after the psychedelic effects wind down, they will discuss issues and progress (or lack thereof) with trained therapists.

Connecticut Post reports that the goal is to fulfill the need for state data that has been lacking, according to state Rep. Michelle Cook (D-Torrington). “We need to have the data to show that there is documented proof of what that therapy does,” Cook said. “We know that it has some incredible outcomes when it is done right, when it’s done by people that are trained in how to use it for treatment of PTSD and so forth.”

Cases like Soule’s would disappear if people in Connecticut gained access to regulated psilocybin as reform bills make their way through legislation.

“I just feel like we didn’t have enough time left to make sure everybody felt comfortable with the bill.”

By Briana Hill, Spotlight Delaware

Delaware’s unregulated market of hemp-derived THC products will remain unchecked for now, as lawmakers pull back on a bill that would have created policy around where and how THC-infused drinks could be sold.

Late last week, Rep. Debra Heffernan (D-Bellefonte) announced in a Facebook post that she is tabling a bill that would have taken beverages infused with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound responsible for the “high” in marijuana, and regulated them exclusively through Delaware’s three-tier alcohol system.

The bill would have prohibited the sale of such drinks in any gas station, smoke shop, convenience store or hemp shop that currently sells them.

Heffernan’s move to stall the bill comes amid weeks of debate between liquor store operators and hemp businesses owners, who have both argued that having the ability to sell the products would make or break their businesses.

THC-infused products have become popular in such stores since the passage of the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, which created a loophole allowing for the legal commercial and retail sale of hemp-derived substances.

Hemp is legally defined as a non-intoxicating cannabis plant that contains 0.3 percent or less THC by dry weight. But entrepreneurial hemp farmers have figured out a way to chemically convert the non-intoxicating compound cannabidiol (CBD) from hemp into intoxicating substances like delta-9 and delta-8 THC. It’s technically legal as long as the hemp at time of harvest stays below legal thresholds.

‘Not enough time left’

Heffernan decided to put the measure on hold, saying that she didn’t feel like there was enough time to get the beverage bill completed considering the concerns that arose from retailers who still wanted to be able to sell the products.

“I just feel like we didn’t have enough time left to make sure everybody felt comfortable with the bill,” Heffernan told Spotlight Delaware.

She also wants to be able to gain more input from Delaware’s new marijuana commissioner, Joshua Sanderlin.

Sanderlin, who was appointed to the role on May 14, told Spotlight Delaware that his primary goal regarding the illicit market is to establish regulations for hemp products, since there is currently no oversight at all.

He affirmed that the marijuana industry is equipped to regulate hemp products, but when asked if he would consider putting hemp stores into Delaware’s regulated marijuana industry so that they can continue to sell their products, he said it was an “early question.”

Now that the bill has been stalled, liquor stores can still sell THC-infused beverages, just without the proposed regulations or the 50-cent tax per 12-ounce can that would have been implemented under the legislation.

Edward Mulvihill, president of the Delaware Small Beverage License Council and Director of Sales & Marketing at Peco’s Liquor Store, says liquor businesses will continue to operate in a “gray area,” but he hopes to see clear regulations soon that define what these beverages are and how they should be taxed and sold.

Hemp and CBD shops will also see some temporary relief with the measure being paused. Jena Murray, president of the U.S Hemp Roundtable, which represents various hemp companies both in and out of state, noted that she and other advocates will continue to push for policy in Delaware that is inclusive to hemp and CBD businesses that have already been selling hemp-derived THC consumable products.

But with both proposals on hold, and potential regulation around THC products being stalled until next year, it is unclear how the lack of enforcement will continue to burden the state.

It is also whether state officials will have to provide more resources to crack down on shops that are selling illegal products.

Hemp products becoming more popular

The widespread sale of the products in Delaware has increased over the past few years, raising concerns among state officials, who have noted an increase in reports of underage consumption and the use of harmful chemicals in the products.

The Delaware Department of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement, which has currently been keeping track of the unregulated market, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Early last month, Heffernan introduced a larger measure to tackle the unregulated market, which, in addition to regulating THC beverages through the state’s alcohol establishments, would have placed hemp-derived THC edibles like gummies, chocolates, smokable flower, and oils under the purview of Delaware’s marijuana industry.

The original bill was met with backlash from hemp and CBD store operators, who said that the bill would take all of the products off their shelves and force them to close their businesses.

But those within the alcohol industry said that the bill was coming at a convenient time considering that many liquor stores statewide have been experiencing a decline in revenue over the past two years.

Last month during the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee hearing, co-founder of Universal Beverage Importers, Jason Giuliano, noted that THC-infused beverages could make up to 20% in liquor store sales.

But about a month after the original measure was introduced, Heffernan divided the proposal into two bills, with the goal of only move forward this legislative session with the measure that would regulate THC drinks, noting that the beverage bill had more “agreement on the path forward.”

She said she would talk with more stakeholders over the summer before finalizing the second bill that would regulate other edible THC products, with hopes of having something to file in January.

This story was first published by Spotlight Delaware.

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