Henderson is the latest in a string of short-term executives for the financially troubled company.
High Times Chief Executive Officer Paul Henderson has resigned from the company.
Henderson, whose name is also listed on some of the High Times dispensary licenses, announced on LinkedIn that he was now CEO and owner of Pure UT Processing and co-founder of Beehive Farmacy. He notes that his role at High Times ended in August 2023.
Henderson joined High Times as president in January 2020 and moved into the CEO role in February 2022. High Times was asked to comment on the departure but did not respond.
High Times has also not yet notified its shareholders via a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Companies that have engaged in public offerings are required to inform shareholders of material changes. A CEO departure is a material change.
Debt Pressures
High Times has experienced extreme financial pressure from carrying overwhelming debt, which it has already defaulted on. The company owes lender ExWorks millions of dollars – but ExWorks is also in receivership. High Times was given a due date of Sept. 30, 2023, to pay the debt to the ExWorks receiver. If High Times can’t come up with the money, the receiver can sell the assets and use the money to pay back the debts.
Green Market Report previously wrote that High Times isn’t operating as if it could lose the company. It continues to do deals and publishes fresh content on the website. However, some subscribers have complained they paid for print subscriptions that they never received but can’t get through to customer service for resolution.
In May, Henderson engaged in an interview with the Cannabis Lab at the Benzinga conference, in which he stated the company was still printing the magazine. Cannabis Lab didn’t ask any questions about the company’s perilous financial situation, nor did Henderson address it. Instead, he spoke about the expansion of brand licensing and cited numerous companies that are working with High Times.
CEO Revolving Door
Henderson is the latest CEO to leave High Times after a short tenure. Other include:
Peter Horvath, May 2020-January 2022
Stormy Simon, January-May 2020
Kraig Fox, April-December 2019
Adam Levin is the owner and executive chairman of High Times, though he often signed documents that a CEO would typically sign, leading many to suspect that the CEOs were merely strawmen or, in Stormy’s case, woman.
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