Steven Hager (born May 25, 1951, Illinois) is an American writer, journalist, filmmaker, and

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

and

cannabis rights Cannabis rights or marijuana rights (sometimes more specifically cannabis consumer rights or stoner rights) are individual civil rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free from emplo ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. He is known for his long association with ''

High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

'' magazine.

Biography

Early life and education

Hager was born on May 25, 1951, in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, the son of Lowell P. Hager and Frances Faye Erea Hager. While a student in junior high, he established his first publication, the ''Cap'n Crunch Courier'', a humor

xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

that was given away free. Two years later, while a student at Urbana High School, he created ''The Tin Whistle'', a monthly newspaper that was eventually distributed in four high schools in Central

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Hager briefly visited

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the countercultu ...

in 1968, and the following year he attended the first

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

festival. He obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater (Playwriting), and a Masters of Science in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

, both from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

Early career

After graduation, Hager moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and worked for a number of magazines before becoming a reporter for the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

''.

Hip hop journalist

During this time, he began researching the hip-hop movement of the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

. His first article on this subculture was published in 1982 on the cover of the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'', and was the first time the words "hip hop" appeared in a major publication. Hager based his article on interviews with

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...

, founder of the

Universal Zulu Nation The Universal Zulu Nation is an international hip hop culture, hip hop awareness group formed by electro (music), electro/hip hop artist Afrika Bambaataa. According to the website of the UZN, the Zulu Nation stands for "knowledge, wisdom, und ...

, and one of the three original hip hop DJs (the others being Kool Herc and

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...

). Not too long afterward, Hager sold his original story, "The Perfect Beat," to

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

, who took some elements from it, including the subject and some of the characters' names, to produce the film ''

Beat Street ''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American dance drama film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to vari ...

'', released by

Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...

in 1984. In 1984,

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

released Hager's groundbreaking book, ''Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti''. Hager followed that book in 1986 with ''Art After Midnight'', an examination of the New York nightclub scene and its influence on artists, primarily

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

and Kenny Scharf. (The entire text of ''Art After Midnight'', including the much-quoted Basquiat interview, was reprinted in Hager's 2002 book ''Adventures in the Counterculture'', as well as his 2005 book ''The Octopus Conspiracy and Other Vignettes of the Counterculture: From Hippies to High Times to Hip-Hop and Beyond''.)

''High Times''

In 1988, Hager began a long relationship with ''

'' magazine, as he was hired as the magazine's editor-in-chief. He is most well-known for removing positive coverage of hard drugs (e.g.,

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

) from the magazine, and instead concentrating on advocating for the personal cultivation of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. Hager became the first editor to publish and promote the work of hemp activist Jack Herer.Cizmar, Martin
"The Story of One of the Greatest Cannabis Advocates Who Ever Lived and the Strain That Bears His Name: With the closure of Third Eye, the Potlander wanted to revisit the life of Jack Herer,"
''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history '' ...

'' (April 18, 2017). Under Hager's leadership, ''High Times'' created the Cannabis Cup, a cannabis awards ceremony held every

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

; and The High Times Freedom Fighters, the first

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

legalization Legalization is the process of removing a law, legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which ...

group. The High Times Freedom Fighters were famous for dressing up in Colonial outfits and organizing

rallies across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. One rally, The Boston Freedom Rally, quickly became the largest political event in the country, drawing an audience of over 100,000 to the

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

. Hager created a

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

revival band called the Soul Assassins. The band played many of the hemp rallies. Their biggest show was opening for the

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has ...

in front of 50,000 people in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. As editor, Hager brought on a friend from high school, Jim Wilson, to become a columnist for ''High Times''. Wilson became known as Chef Ra and contributed a cooking-with-pot article in every issue of the magazine for 15 years. Chef Ra was also a member of the High Times Freedom Fighters and became the featured speaker at many of the rallies. In 1990, Hager became the first person outside

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

to promote

420 420 may refer to: Science and technology * 420 (number), in mathematics * 420 Bertholda, a main-belt asteroid * 4:2:0, a chroma subsampling layout Cannabis culture * 420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations ...

; as a result, subsequent Freedom Fighter councils, Cannabis Cup ceremonies, and Whee! festivals were always scheduled for 4:20 PM. In September 1991, Hager wrote an article in ''High Times'' titled "Heritage of Stone," a comprehensive analysis of the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

that has been widely circulated on the Internet as a definitive article on the subject. The article indicated Kennedy was likely murdered because of his growing opposition to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, and implicated

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

and

Allen Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the ea ...

in the cover-up. Judge

Jim Garrison James Carothers Garrison (born Earling Carothers Garrison; November 20, 1921 – October 21, 1992) was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, from 1962 to 1973 and later a state appellate court judge. A member of the Democratic Pa ...

cited it as "the best magazine article ever written on the subject." Hager created the Counterculture Hall of Fame in 1997 as part of the Cannabis Cup ceremonies. In the mid-1990s, Hager turned the membership list of the Freedom Fighters over to the

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both Medical cannabis in the United St ...

(NORML), and began concentrating on creating events that advocated the environmental benefits of hemp while also demonstrating the spiritual uses of cannabis. The World Hemp Expo Extravaganja, or WHEE! Festivals, were held in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Unfortunately, most of the promoters who held Whee! festivals found themselves subject to intense law enforcement efforts to shut down their venues. The primary focus of Whee! was a silent, Sunday, sunset meditation for peace in the war on drugs. During this period, Hager was contacted by the Waldos, the inventors of 420, and became the first person to interview them. Hager was fired as ''High Times'' editor-in-chief in 2003.Bloom, Steve
"My 30+ Years in Cannabis: From High Times to CelebStoner,"
''CelebStoner'' (September 5, 2020). His 2004 book, ''The Octopus Conspiracy and Other Vignettes of the Counterculture: From Hippies to High Times to Hip-Hop and Beyond'', compiles some of his previously published work; the chapter "Nomenclature of an Octopus Cabal" theorizes that a network of secret societies manufactures war for profit and social control. By 2005, Hager was rehired at ''High Times'', first as the

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

, and then in 2006, back in the position of editor-in-chief, but by 2009 had returned to the role of creative director. He was again let go by the magazine in 2013, eventually suing ''High Times'' for defrauding him of his ownership shares in the company.

Documentary film work

Hager learned to shoot and edit video, and started documenting all research on videotape. He has produced several feature documentaries, including ''Let Freedom Ring'', ''Secrets of the Dutch Grow Masters'', ''The Cannabis Cup'', ''Saint Stephen'', ''The Tom Forcade Story'', and ''The 20th Cannabis Cup'', assembling one of the world's largest archives of cannabis-related video. In 2002 he directed the video shoot that was later released as '' Live in Amsterdam''. In 2004, he wrote most of the narration for '' a/k/a Tommy Chong'', and also appears in the film. Hager appeared in Episode #12 ("Pittsburgh") of the Showtime series ''

Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...

'', playing himself at an event modeled on the Cannabis Cup. In 2007, he produced a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show based around his job at ''High Times'' magazine. Hager appears in the 2013 film ''420: The Documentary'' and provides the history of the phrase and its ceremonial use, as well as his role in spreading awareness on the spiritual aspects of cannabis. On April 19, 2021, Hager released his first film in 13 years, ''Green Easter''. In December, 2023, Hager announced the creation of a peace sanctuary and festival site to be created in the Catskills. The opening ceremonies, titled "Camp Fun," will be held on the Summer Solstice 2024 and co-hosted by Patti Astor. The event has a Facebook page and GoFundMe.

Later activities

In 2014 Hager created Abakus Media in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, published the ebook ''Cannabis Cures Cancer?'', and founded the religious organization the Pot Illuminati. His essay "The New Pot Enlightenment" was included in the 2016 book ''Cannabis and Spirituality: An Explorer's Guide to an Ancient Plant Spirit Ally''. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Hager created a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

titled ''Everything You Know is Twisted''. On April 19, 2024, Hager released an expose on Youtube titled: Origins of High Times magazine. The film accuses the lawyer Micheal Kennedy of stealing the magazine from the employees. On January 1, 2025, Hager released an expose on his history with High Times magazine that details the actions of the lawyer who was running the company. On April 16, 2025, Hager released his first album titled Psyop-Busting Ballads. He wrote all 13 songs in four days. There are ballads on Jean-Michel Basquiat, Benjamin Melendez, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, Zoroaster, The Holy Grail, the Weather Underground,https://stevenhager.hearnow.com/ among others.

Bibliography

* ''Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti'' (St. Martin's Press, 1984;

Smashwords Smashwords, Inc., based in Los Gatos, California, is a platform for self-publishing e-books. The company, founded by Mark Coker, began public operation in 2008 and was acquired by Draft2Digital, LLC in 2022. Authors and independent publishers ...

, 2012; Amazon 2014) * ''Art After Midnight: The East Village Scene'' (St. Martin's Press, 1986; Smashwords, 2012; Amazon, 2014) * ''Adventures in the Counterculture: From Hip Hop to High Times'' (High Times Books, 2002) * ''The Octopus Conspiracy: And Other Vignettes of the Counterculture from Hippies to High Times to Hip Hop and Beyond'' (Trine Day, 2005) * ''Looking for the Perfect Beat'' (Smashwords, 2012) * ''Cannabis Cures Cancer?'' (30 pp., 2014) * ''The Bitcoin Revolution'' (Smashwords, 2014; Amazon 2014) * ''Killing Lincoln: The Real Story'' (

CreateSpace On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, was a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, So ...

, 2014) * ''Hip Hop: The Complete Archives'' (CreateSpace, 2014) * ''Killing Kennedy: The Real Story'' (Smashwords, CreateSpace 2017)

Filmography

* ''

'' (

, 1984; story credit) * ''Chef Ra Escapes Babylon'' (High Times Productions, 1989; consultant) * ''Let Freedom Ring'' (High Times Productions, 1990; producer) * ''8th Cannabis Cup'' (High Times Productions, 1995; producer) * ''9th Cannabis Cup'' (High Times Productions, 1996; producer) * ''11th Cannabis Cup'' (High Times Productions, 1999; producer/director/editor) * ''Grow Secrets of the Dutch Masters'' (High Times Productions, 2000; producer/director/editor) * ''High Times Presents the Cannabis Cup'' (Koch Vision, 2003; producer, director, writer) * '' Live in Amsterdam'' (High Times Records, 2005; director) * '' a/k/a Tommy Chong'' (Blue Chief Entertainment, 2006; co-writer; subject in film) * ''Miss High Times Swimsuit Video'' (High Times Productions, 2008; producer) * ''High Times Presents the 20th Anniversary Cannabis Cup'' (High Times Productions, 2008; producer) * ''420-The Documentary'' (Harm Reduction Productions, 2014; subject in film; consultant) * '' Grass Is Greener'' (

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

; 2019; subject in film; consultant) * ''When World's Collide'' (Green Hummingbird Entertainment, 2020; audio interviews with Basquait, Scharf, and Haring) * ''Green Easter'' (Zero Budget Productions, 2021, 68-minute documentary) * ''History of 4/20 in 3 Acts'' (Pot Illuminati Productions, 2022, 26-minute documentary) * ''Origins of High Times Magazine'' (Zero Budget Productions, 2024, 2-hour documentary) * ''It's in the Rig Veda'' (Zero Budget Productions, 2025, 90-minute documentary)

References

External links

Hager's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hager, Steven 1951 births American cannabis activists American conspiracy theorists Living people Writers from Urbana, Illinois