HAGER GETS SERIOUS

Steve Hager, editor of independent magazine High Times, was playing
piano backstage in Jorgenson Wednesday night. He wore a black jean
jacket and blue pants with a silver chain attached. His gray hair is
shoulder-length and layered. He's in his 50s, but there is something
eternally young about him. Hager, a proponent of a 1960s
counterculture, questions the status quo and remains a free spirit.
His intelligence and wit are captivating.

Hager came to UConn to debate the issue of legalizing marijuana with
Robert Stutman, formerly of the Drug Enforcement Administration. A
friend of Hager's from high school visited backstage and they sat on
the leather sofa, sharing laughs and reminiscing.

"If people knew how straight I was they'd be disappointed," Hager said
referring to the wild hippie image people may have of him. Still,
Hager's life is anything but ordinary. He's been a pioneer for the
counterculture, contributing to counterculture journalism, creating
the Counterculture Hall of Fame and the starting the Cannabis Cup in
Amsterdam.

He began underground newspapers in junior high and high school in
Illinois. In junior high, he started Captain Crunch Currier, which he
said derived the name from the fact that it had "more sugar in it than
any food." He said the authorities unsuccessfully tried to discover
the paper's author, since he included stories that made fun of
teachers. In high school in 1968, he started The Tin Whistle. It was
banned from the four high schools it circulated in because he included
controversial articles, including some about LSD.

Hager attended University of Illinois, earning a bachelor's degree in
theater and master's degree in journalism. The first newspaper he
worked for was the New York Daily News, but he got fired. He had a
friend who was editor of High Times, and he joined the staff there.

"[The job] reconnected me with my roots," he said.

According to Hager, mainstream journalism has had some good
investigative reporting in the past, but it's dominated by celebrity
chasers. He was attracted to High Times because he was allowed to
write what he wanted.

Hager started the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in 1988, a festival
featured in High Times which judges marijuana.

"All farmers have harvest festivals ... if you're a cultivator, you
celebrate the harvest," Hager said.

Hager selected Amsterdam because marijuana use is permitted. Amsterdam
allows marijuana use for people over 18 and limits personal possession
to 30 grams and purchases to 5 grams, Hager said.

In 2003, at the 15th Cannabis Cup, Hager was arrested by Amsterdam
police. In his hotel room he had hash samples that he was video taping
for the festival. He left his hotel for a while and placed a "do not
disturb" sign on the door. He said when he came back he could smell
the marijuana as he was getting off the elevator. The police arrived
and Hager was arrested for having over 152 times the legal limit, he
said. Each of the 27 samples had 60 grams in them.

The police chief had been studying him and had High Times and cup
documents on a table. Hager said the officer liked what he was doing
and thought he was a good guy, so he released him. The worst thing
about the arrest was two kilograms of some of the best hashish was
destroyed, said Hager.

"It was the fuel that was gonna fuel the party," he
said.

He also had to pay a $2,000 fine.

Hager's current day music interests include The Hives and The White
Stripes. He said these groups have minimal band members and use three
or four cords. He still listens to 1960s garage band music, "the same
music I played when I was 15," he said. He said it's straight from the
minds of teens and there is some really honesty in it.

Hager discussed the history of counterculture. He said it was
established in the French Colony of New Orleans in the early 1700s.
Congo Square was a location that was open to singing and celebration
by all. He said it was the birth place of rock & roll and jazz.
Blacks, whites and Native Americans joined together in celebration, he
said. He said that Mardi Gras has its roots in Native American culture
and it was "a fusion of all cultures...a world where there is no
bigotry or hatred."

Hager discussed the influence of marijuana in religion. In Buddha's
bowl, there is hemp seed, Hager said.

"I believe that it is the origin of the Christian Sacrament," he
said.

He said early Christians put marijuana in olive oil and placed it on
the skin for absorption. He cited examples of marijuana use in the
Bible. He said Moses' vision of the burning bush was brought on by
marijuana. He said that when Jesus created miracles, like enabling a
blind man to see, marijuana was used. In India Hindu's drink soma,
which is a form of marijuana.

Hager does not recommend smoking marijuana. He believes smoking is
unhealthy, since there are ties between smoking of any kind and cancer.

"I hope smoking is going to fade away," he said. "Don't smoke it,
vaporize it, drink it in tea or eat it in brownies."

Hager admitted marijuana can be a problem for some.

"I know people who got obsessed with it at an early age," he
said.

According to Hager, people need to respect marijuana. As a father of a
4-year-old and 1-year-old child, Hager said he doesn't keep marijuana
in his house. He said students have to know their limitations.

"If you're having breakfast bong hits, you're wasting your time,"
Hager said.

He said people with a "Cheech and Chong attitude" are part of the
problem. Only when people can act like adults, should they be able to
smoke.

Although Hager had some strong theories about corruption in politics,
he advised people "not to spend their lives trying to look into a
black hole .. have fun ... build your own culture."

When asked about his views on the presidential election, he said, "I
think it's interesting that Skull and Bones is running the election."
Both Kerry and Bush are members of the German secret society. Hager
said the society is "to be feared and respected." In 1833, General
William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft founded their own chapter
at Yale University. He said of Skull and Bones, "They've been
orchestrating world events."

"To me, the voting machines are all rigged," Hager
said.

He said that "anyone that tries to investigate conspiracy is
[perceived] a lunatic." Someday people will figure out "the horse and
pony show," he said.

In the last election Hager voted for Ralph Nader. He hasn't decided if
he will vote this election. He's more interested in local politics in
his hometown of Woodstock, N.Y.

One of Hager's most recent ventures is a book entitled "Adventures in the
Counterculture: From Hip Hop to High Times." The book includes eight
articles written in the course of his journalism career.