New High

Every revolution has its pamphleteer. America's latest rebel crusade--for the legalization of marijuana--has inevitably produced its own pamphleteer, of sorts, a cause-and-cash-oriented, superglossy bimonthly called High Times. Pot has already been "decriminalized" in five states, and several others are expected to follow. So the magazine at $1.50 per copy ($8 for ten issues), has had a heady time in its first year. It has shot from a claimed circulation of 25,000 to 300,000 in its current issue. Its 20 youthful staffers--many of them refugees from straight publications like Good Housekeeping--work out of a large loft in Manhattan. Editorially, High Times has so far ranged all the way from the bizarre to the benumbed. One early issue ran a far-out, unverified, unsigned account of President John Kennedy "turning on" to alleviate his back troubles ("I Was Kennedy's Dealer"). Later issues have come down to more clear-eyed and believable fare, including pieces on the medical effects of drugs, roundups on drug busts, and even the latest summary of drug prices in the U.S. and abroad.

Broader Appeal. Despite its growing sobriety, the question recurs whether High Times is not in fact encouraging lawbreaking when it advertises itself as "devoted entirely to the exploration of psychoactive drugs." However, hip-casual Editor Ed Dwyer, 27, formerly with Coronet, draws a careful distinction. Says he: "We support the legalization of marijuana, but we never advocate the use of it. We report on its use and the interesting facts associated with altering consciousness, but we do not lead our readers into drugs. Everybody must decide by himself. It's a personal thing."

The five national-magazine distributors have boycotted High Times. Publisher-Owner Andrew Kowal, 24, is unperturbed. A Syracuse University dropout, Kowal says the magazine has been successfully marketed through boutiques and head-shops, which are also major advertisers, and through local distributors. Only a small number, 9,000, are mail subscriptions. Kowal predicts a 400,000 press run for the next issue: "We expect circulation to level out at some point," he says slyly, "but we will go as high as we can."

Still, a single-cause magazine can come down as fast as it goes up. Concerned but bullish, Editor Dwyer plans to broaden High Times' appeal to include the clothes, food and homelife of the pot generation, and investigative stories on the drug agencies. Says Dwyer: "Our audience is optimistic and pleasure-oriented. We're putting it all together for this readership."

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