High Times
The Cannabis Lifestyle
By Melinda Bie
With Mo
How’d the interview go? He asked if I knew about the magazine and I told him yes and loved it. He said nonchalantly, ‘so, you don’t mind drugs?’ I said ‘no, I do them as often as I can’ – with a straight face. Probably the only interview I could have said that in and STILL have gotten the job. The pay was $200 a week, $40 Despite her diminutive stature, Mo is a powerhouse. Raised in more than the club - it was like getting an extra week of pay the suburbs of Philadelphia, her life has been a rollercoaster and I would be working for a magazine I adored. of adventures and experiences she wouldn’t trade for the world. A “school of life” graduate, she came up through the Any memorable moments? ranks and has been at the helm of McFadden & McFadden I remember rolling a joint for Tom and putting it on top of Public Relations in Santa Barbara for the past 29 years. his mail about a week or two after I started. He called me in and asked pointedly ‘what is this?’ I said, it’s a thank you Early in her career she worked as assistant to Tom Forcade, joint I rolled for you. ‘oh’ he replied softly, genuinely surprised the editor and founder of pop-icon High Times magazine, a and mumbled something like “No one ever gives me a joint.” then-new publication devoted to drug culture. Cannabis by I explained I knew he was high profile and the cops or feds the Sea sat down with Mo to learn a little more about this were always watching him so he couldn’t have anything on experience and what it was like to be entrenched at such a him. Nothing like a joint with coffee while going over the mail volatile time and boy did we get a story... to ease him into the day. My small gesture meant a lot to him. Maureen “Mo” McFadden has long been a cannabis supporter, and after back surgery in 2016, she has become even more of an advocate, as cannabis allowed her to wean off oxy-contin, which in turn aided in her quick recovery. All with the full support and encouragement of her surgeon.
What were you doing prior to going to High Times? I was working for the owners of a nightclub in the Village in New York City - The Bottom Line. Always thought that was a poetic move - from The Bottom Line to High Times. The woman who did marketing for the club knew a man in the High Times ad department who told her of a position that was open. They told me it was an assistant position for one of the editors - not the guy who founded the damn magazine [Tom Forcade]. Holy S**t! I would have been more nervous if I’d known.
How did the magazine launch? In 1973 when Tom was making plans for the magazine, the mere mention of or use of recreational drugs outside the High Times offices was taboo. How would he distribute the magazine to get the sales he needed to keep the mag going? How would he find the people who wanted to know more? One of the women he worked with devised a unique idea – a distribution network using paraphernalia stores as our outlet. Because of this innovative thinking, the first issue of High Times holds publishing gold—the only magazine to start publishing in the black. Our subscribers received their During the interview I used humor, and apparently my typing speed copies in a plain brown wrapper. and vocabulary were part of the approval. Having experience as an executive secretary for a few unusual people was on my resume which gave him confidence I was the right woman for the job. 10 Cannabis by the Sea Summer 2021
