By Gabriel Spitzer

   If it’s possible to put a brand name on marijuana, one magazine has done it. Just ask any stoner:
    High Times, man.
    For 25 years, High Times has been the flagship publication for the estimated 20 to 30 million Americans who smoke pot.
   But starting this week, High Times will be joined on the stands by a new and sprightly competitor, Heads magazine. And as things heat up in what can now be called the "dope magazine" category, Heads will duke it out with High Times for a share of a readership that is overwhelmingly young, male and with money to burn (pun intended).
    Heads founder and editor Paul DeRienzo hopes to give his magazine an activist flavor.
    "We want to do more than just exploit this market, we want to be part of the movement. That comes with a certain amount of responsibility to inform, educate and enlighten our readers," he says.
    DeRienzo, whose background includes 10 years of investigative reporting in New York City and a weekly radio show on WBAI, New York’s Pacifica affiliate, enlisted almost 40 contributors for his premiere issue.
    The Heads staff, comprised for now of DeRienzo and associate publisher Joel Gershon, takes a serious view of the marijuana movement, even if it does give some people the giggles.
    "We’re dealing with more than just the pot issue," says Gershon, who points to the rather diverse bunch of advertisers onboard for the first issue.
   Heads will carry ads in four major categories: vegetarian and organic health products, hemp products, music advertisements and, of course, plenty of marijuana paraphernalia. A full-page ad lists at $4,000.
    "It’s kind of revolutionary to bridge these different areas," Gershon remarks. "At High Times, it was really all pot stuff. At Heads it has always been our intention to broaden our base."
   With an initial run of 70,000, The first issue of Heads will feature about 30 pages of advertising, dispersed among articles about marijuana legalization, human rights, racial profiling and genetically engineered foods.
    "We really want to appeal to progressive causes," DeRienzo explains.
   Therein, says Gershon, lies the difference between Heads and High Times.
    "High Times goes for the lowest common denominator. They really cater to young stoner kids in the middle of nowhere."
    "We want to take these issues seriously and not make a joke out of it," adds DeRienzo.
    But the people at High Times aren’t kidding around either.
    "We are going out of our way to service the counterculture in addition to providing news," says High Times publisher Jim Ski.
    Without a serious challenge to its reign, High Times has grown into a formidable publication. Its readership is around 200,000, about 90 percent of which buy off the newsstand.
    "I think people have a tendency to be paranoid about putting their names on a list," says Ski, explaining the low subscription base.
    Nevertheless, eyeballs are eyeballs, and High Times has always managed to fill the book with willing--if unconventional--advertisers.
    "It’s a very unusual place to sell ads," director of advertising Rick Cusick says dryly.
    But High Times has proven to be quite an effective advertising vehicle.
    "We’re so targeted that many of our advertisers see a quid-pro-quo return, and you don’t get that elsewhere," says Cusick. "Whereas in most magazines it’s all about exposure and brand-building, many of our advertisers see a direct, quantifiable return."
    The magazine lists full-page ads at $6,670 and has about a 50-50 mix of editorial and advertising pages.
   "We target two kinds of advertisers," says Cusick. "There are mainstream advertisers, and there are advertisers that pertain particularly to marijuana culture."
    This latter category includes an impressive variety of pipes, bongs, urine test kits, marijuana seeds, special tupperware-type containers for pot and elaborate smoking devices that can range up to $1,000 in price.
    "I’ve heard a lot of ridicule about these things," Cusick admits. The urine test devices in particular have been the subject of snickers, but Cusick isn’t laughing.
    "Unlike regular advertising—we’re not selling socks here—the end result is people staying out of jail, people keeping their jobs, people keeping their families together."
    High Times boasts a readership that is 78 percent male, with a median age of 27.5. A full 83 percent of High Times readers are 18-34.
    As far as the competition goes, High Times isn’t too worried.
    "I don’t think anyone will give High Times a run for its money," says Cusick.
   About Heads in particular, he had this to say: "Speaking as a businessman, I wish them well. As an activist, there can never be too many voices. But as a competitor, they haven’t got a chance."
    Jim Ski perused the premier issue of Heads last week.
     "It’s okay. It’s on nice paper," he says. "But it all looks vaguely familiar. I saw pictures in there that have probably run in High Times at some point."
       Ski sees the competition as an opportunity to make High Times stronger.
    "Historically it’s been tough to find a competitor to target against. This isn’t a field that most people are leaping into; I don’t think we have to worry about Hearst or Conde Nast jumping into the game. Competition is always fun."
    "Of course we’ll compete for advertisers," says Cusick. "But anybody can sell an ad once. The trick is to sell it twice."
   For his part, Heads’ DeRienzo doesn’t exactly have his six-shooter drawn.
    "I think there’s room for all of us," he says. "I’m actually surprised there aren’t more of us already."
    Meanwhile, dope magazines’ readership isn’t going away any time soon.
    "So many people smoke pot now," remarks DeRienzo. "Cops smoke it. Judges smoke it. You can probably smell it coming out of the DA’s office."

-Gabriel Spitzer is a staff writer for Media Life.

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