On Saturday, February 7, Sony Hall will host the winners’ gala for New York’s first consumer-driven High Times Cannabis Cup since legalization. While the night promises awards-season energy and a musical tribute to Bob Marley, the man behind the brand’s rebirth, Josh Kesselman, sees it as something much deeper: a return to the “magic” and “authenticity” that first defined the culture.
Kesselman, the founder of RAW Rolling Papers and the new publisher of High Times, views the legendary publication through the lens of a classic children’s story. “The analogy is the giving tree,” Kesselman explained during a sit-down with The Source. “Where the High Times of the giving tree took the leaves, then the branches, then the stems, and the trunk, so there was nothing left but a little thing. Now we can rebuild it from there ever since.”
The “Magic” of Music and Smoke
A cornerstone of this rebuilding process is the reintegration of music into the High Times DNA. For Kesselman, the relationship between the plant and the rhythm is biological.
“Music and cannabis are intricately related. Snoop and Wiz, of course, but it’s always been about music,” Kesselman noted. “Smoke, if you think about it, is really, I consider it to be kind of magic. You’re lighting something on fire, it turns into smoke. Messages, little hidden signals in that smoke, enter your body… and you have an experience. Music is the same thing. It’s just vibrations in the air… hitting your ears… and you end up having a reaction and a feeling because of that.”
This connection will be on full display at the gala, which Kesselman promises will be “more authentic than what you saw 10 years ago.” Alongside the Bob Marley tribute, he revealed that some legendary MC’s will be taking the stage.
Organic Culture over “Paid” Promotions
One of Kesselman’s biggest gripes with the modern industry is the lack of authenticity, a shift he is determined to reverse. Recalling the days when rappers like Run-D.M.C. wore Adidas simply because they liked them, Kesselman emphasized that he doesn’t want to “pay people to smoke my shit.”
“We prefer organic and the audience is not as dumb as people think they are,” he said. “We know when something is real and authentic. I don’t want to pay people… whereas you and I grew up, all those songs, all the ones we talk about, nobody was paid. It was what they were actually doing. And therefore, it was real.”
By making the Cannabis Cup entirely consumer-driven—where thousands of New Yorkers sampled and voted on the products—Kesselman is ensuring that the awards reflect what people are actually doing, not what brands are paying for.
A Home for Stoners
As High Times moves into 2026 with its first real edition featuring Rick Ross giving “business advice like a boss,” Kesselman is focused on storytelling and real journalism.
“I’m not doing this to make money,” Kesselman said. “I want High Times to be inspirational. There should be stories in there where you start reading the story, and then, by the time you’re done, you have been transformed. That’s the goal.”
Beyond the economics of the holiday, Kesselman finds deep value in the organic connections formed through shared experiences. He was particularly moved by the “neverending loop of connectivity” sparked when EsDeeKid and Timothée Chalamet collaborated on their “Four RAWs” song—a track inspired by the simple act of smoking four RAW joints. Kesselman, who traveled to New York specifically to meet EsDeeKid for his ‘raw’ energy, views this as a perfect cycle of inspiration: the smoke inspires the artist, the artist inspires the audience, and the audience, in turn, returns to the smoke. For Kesselman, it’s a beautiful, uplifting cycle where creative energy and communal rituals keep everyone connected.
Ultimately, the Saturday gala at Sony Hall is about more than just a trophy. It is about reclaiming a culture that Kesselman believes was almost lost. “I’m trying to give the newer generation the same experience that I was lucky enough to have. High Times should be a home for stoners… for our whole culture.”
photos courtesy of High Times