The Inlander's Green Zone section likes to stand alone, but to say it doesn't have inspiration would be a lie.
This section of the paper, at least as long as I've been writing it, is in some ways inspired by a magazine that made its name, quite literally, about getting high.
Since 1974, High Times has arguably been the New York Times of cannabis.
OK, maybe it isn't "The Gray Lady," but High Times is, without question, the green lady. It's all the news — about cannabis at least — that is fit to print.
It was the biggest name in weed until 2017.
High Times fell on hard times. The magazine was purchased by a private equity group and never maintained its position on newsstands. By the end of 2024, it was as good as dead.
Last week, however, brought new life to the venerated brand. High Times lit up once again when it was purchased by Josh Kesselman, founder of Raw, a brand of rolling papers.
For years, High Times was the go-to news source for cannabis. It existed as an outlet that was unabashedly pro-cannabis for decades prior to legalization. Green Zone has been providing cannabis news for over a decade (after Washington legalized recreational cannabis), but High Times is old enough to be this section's dad.
After the 2017 purchase of the magazine by outside investors, things quickly fell apart. By late last year, the magazine came out only infrequently. It was no longer the bulwark of cannabis policy upon which it had built its name.
Now, though, it has new ownership. Ownership within the cannabis space.
That raises ethical questions about how the magazine can cover the industry when it is owned by someone who works within the industry. But I'm willing to say at least the magazine is alive.
In 1974, when High Times first went to print, cannabis was illegal everywhere. I'm not sure what this new version of the publication will look like, but it is a vanguard and I'm glad it lives on.
Green Zone might be a play on words, but it's not as silly of a saying as High Times. This is just a section in a paper, it's not a full blown magazine. But this section could not exist without High Times paving the way. You wouldn't be reading these words if High Times hadn't put cannabis into print decades ago. Welcome back, green lady.
