[PRESS RELEASE] – WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23, 2025 – The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the nation’s largest and most established cannabis trade group, announced that its founding CEO, Aaron Smith, will step down on Aug. 15. Smith will continue to serve on NCIA’s Board of Directors to help ensure a smooth transition and support the organization’s continued success and impact. 

“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve this organization’s members and help build a great new American industry,” Smith said. “NCIA was founded to give cannabis businesses a seat at the policymaking table at a time when we were fighting just to be taken seriously. Today, our industry is safely serving tens of millions of adult consumers, generating billions in economic activity and tax revenue, and is more politically engaged than ever. I’m proud of what we’ve built together and look forward to supporting NCIA’s continued impact from a new vantage point.”

Smith’s departure marks a shift in organizational structure and management, with leadership transitioning to NCIA’s Board of Directors. The board is chaired by Adam Rosenberg, a longtime cannabis industry advocate, adviser, and executive at Vlasic Bioscience, an NCIA Evergreen Member since 2023.

NCIA’s Board of Directors is composed of leaders from across the legal cannabis supply chain who have been selected by the association’s broader membership. The board brings deep expertise in policy, business and advocacy that will guide the organization through this transition and into its next phase of impact.

Additionally, the board has promoted Chief Strategy Officer Brooke Gilbert to the role of chief operating officer (COO), where she will oversee all day-to-day operations, including staff and contractor management. Gilbert has served in leadership roles at NCIA for more than a decade and brings a steady hand and deep institutional knowledge to this transition.

The NCIA staff and board remain firmly committed to advancing the organization’s mission: championing policy reforms that support small and independent businesses while delivering exceptional service to members. With those goals in mind, the board is undertaking a purposeful and thoughtful process to identify new leadership, while also supporting the organization’s next phase of growth and impact.

“NCIA is in incredibly capable hands. Brooke has been a driving force behind the scenes for years, and our board brings unmatched experience and commitment to this mission,” Smith said.

“One of NCIA’s greatest strengths is the ability to unify a diverse industry around shared priorities,” Rosenberg said. “Aaron built an organization with lasting influence, and we are grateful for his leadership. As we turn the page and enter a new era for cannabis, I am honored to lead the organization forward with such an exceptional team.

“We are more committed than ever to delivering our members the strategic, coordinated advocacy that reflects the full potential of the cannabis movement.”

Smith’s next chapter will focus on advancing structural reforms that address political dysfunction and polarization—barriers that have long impeded federal progress on cannabis policy. He will serve as political director at Unite America, a leading cross-partisan organization working on electoral reforms like open primaries.

“In a sense, I’m still working on cannabis reform,” Smith said. “But I’m moving further upstream to help fix the broken political systems that have stood in the way of meaningful federal progress.”

During this transition, the organization’s leadership can be reached at [email protected] or (888) 683-5650. 

The Short Version

The company you invested in, High Times Holdings, no longer exists. It went under and into receivership.

We (the new owners of the High Times brand) paid about $3.5 million into that receivership. That money is now with the receiver.

If you have a claim, you should reach out to the receiver handling the process as soon as possible. 

The Receiver

Stephen Kunkel

Receiver for ExWorks Capital

The Long Version (For Those Who Want The Whole Story)

A Letter To Everyone Who’s Been Wondering.

Yeah, we know. This sucks. Big time.

A lot of us were in the same boat. We were excited. We believed in the dream. Some of us even invested in the old High Times back then because we thought we’d be part of something bigger, part of the future of cannabis.

And like a lot of you, we felt let down. Burned. Disappointed.

So trust us when we say… we get it.

That’s why we’re writing this now. To clear the air. To explain what really happened. To tell you what’s next. And to help you understand what steps you can take if you’re still trying to figure this out.

What Happened To The Old High Times?

The old High Times you invested in a few years ago isn’t the same one that exists today.

Back then, High Times Holdings raised money with big ambitions. An IPO. Dispensaries. Media ventures. They sold people on a vision. And honestly? It wasn’t a wild dream. It could have worked. But it didn’t. A lot of things got in the way and personally we don’t like the way they did many things.

Behind the scenes, the challenges piled up. Debts grew. Deals fell through. Mistakes were made. Eventually, things unraveled.

Then the government got involved. The SEC. The Department of Justice. Lawsuits. Investigations. Important questions about how things had been handled.

In the end, High Times Holdings didn’t survive. It went into receivership: a legal process where the court steps in to sell off assets and settle debts.

That’s when things started to change.

What We Did, And Why.

Josh Kesselman, the founder of RAW, purchased the High Times assets out of receivership for $3.5 million. He brought longtime High Times veteran Matt Stang along and together they assembled the new core team now rebuilding the brand.

Some faces here are familiar. Some are new. What unites us is simple: we believe this brand and what it once stood for is very much needed again in today’s society! .

To be clear: this wasn’t a purchase of the old company. It was a purchase of the brand. The magazine. The Cannabis Cup. The archives. Important bones like that. Basically, the spirit of it all.

The money went into the receivership process to help close out the past, to settle debts, resolve claims, and give High Times a path forward.

The debts and lawsuits are with the receiver to resolve. That’s generally how receivership works.

What we took on is the responsibility of rebuilding something worth saving. Something we still believe in.

What About Your Old Investment?

We understand how this feels. People believed in that company. People put their hard-earned money into it. Growers, grandmas, grinders, glassblowers, ganjapreneurs, good people, green thumbs, gig workers, guys and gals from everywhere… People hoped it would turn into something big.

The process for those past investments is still running through the receiver. The funds we paid went into that process, not into this new chapter of High Times, and if you believe you may be owed something, you need to be in contact with the receiver and file a claim

Why We’re Sharing This.

Because transparency matters. Because honesty matters. Because people deserve clear answers. Because we’re only here to rebuild High Times from the ashes and make it into something our community truly needs.

We also want to be clear about where things stand today. We didn’t create the problems of the past and we had nothing to do with them. We’re just here to rebuild from almost zero. High Times was a Giving Tree. First private equity took the leaves then the branches then the trunk until there was nothing left but a stump. We’ve planted new seeds and are regrowing this tree!!

What we did was step up to protect what was left and give this brand a future — so it didn’t just disappear into history as another cautionary tale. Or worse, get scooped up by some corporate stiffs looking to “monetize” the community even further.

We’re here to rebuild High Times for the people who still care. For the culture that kept this alive long after others gave up.

What Happens Next.

If you want to follow up on your investment, reach out to the receiver handling the old company’s process.

If you want to see where High Times is headed next, stick around. We’re bringing it back. The right way and it is going to be amazing!

Print. Events. Real journalism. Real culture. No gimmicks. No hype. Just something worth believing in again.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for caring. Thanks for still giving a damn. We look forward to having some incredible High Times with you!!!

With respect,

The New High Times Team