Filed Under: Stoner Perseverance
Pot Culture Magazine turns twelve this week. That might not seem like much to outsiders, but anyone who’s ever tried to keep an independent publication alive in the algorithm age knows what a damn miracle that is. For founder and editor Matthew Roberts, the road hasn’t been smooth, linear, or well-funded. It’s been real, disorganized, reborn, and built entirely by stubbornness, instinct, and loyalty to a culture too often sidelined in corporate weed media.
We asked Roberts to reflect on the path so far, the misfires, the motives, and what keeps Pot Culture Magazine burning hot into year 13.
What made you start Pot Culture Magazine in 2013, and what made you come back to it a decade later?
I had just interviewed former Cocaine Cowboy Micky Munday and sent it to High Times. Chris Simunek was the editor in chief then. He responded and said it didn’t fit their editorial needs. That was fine. But it made something click. I kept hitting the same wall, and what I was writing didn’t fit anywhere. So I thought, fuck it, I’ll build something where I make the call. I registered the name on every platform I could, Twitter, Facebook, maybe even Google+, and started posting. A few friends offered to help. Google Blogspot was our home, and now it’s our blog.
There were five of us at the beginning. Only two or three actually wrote anything. I think some of them liked the idea more than the work. Eventually, they stopped showing up. I tried to keep it going, but I had a family to feed, so I stepped away.
Fast forward to December 5, 2023. I’m clearing out old passwords, and I found the login for PotCultureMag on X. Just out of curiosity, I checked it. We still had 245 followers. That was enough. I launched the blog again with a piece called Pot Culture Mag Repacked. A reintroduction. A reminder. A commitment. We’ve done 690 stories since then, and we’re just getting warmed up.
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When you look back, what moment or article makes you say, “Yeah, we did that”?
Two stand out. In the New Mexico water rights story, we brought attention to how the state was crushing small cannabis owners under water regulations that made no sense. That one meant something. And actor David Krumholtz’s struggle with CHS. People needed to hear that. It’s a side of the weed conversation nobody likes to touch.
What’s the biggest difference between weed culture in 2013 versus now?
In 2013, people still looked at weed like it was a gateway to hell. The stigma was loud. Now, legalization has shifted things. Weed’s not just more accepted, it’s expected. But there’s a catch: corporate weed came with it. You trade one kind of control for another.
What does “for the culture, by the culture” mean to you personally?
It means we’re not owned. We don’t follow money, we follow truth. We serve the heads, the growers, the ones who got stomped by prohibition and big brands alike. We’re not here for clicks, we’re here for the culture.
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What were the hardest moments keeping this thing alive since the reboot?
Doing this daily on no budget. Limited staff. And still getting looked down on because we cover cannabis. People assume we’re stoned slackers. They have no idea what it takes to put out sharp content every single day.
Do you ever feel like the industry is trying to erase people like you?
Absolutely. You’ve got platforms that are happy to sell you a domain, but ban your ads. You’ve got PR firms that blacklist you if you won’t play ball. There’s a system in place to squeeze out anyone who doesn’t kneel to the narrative.
What are you proudest of with PCM’s revival since December 5?
We’re talking to real people again. Growers, tokers, activists, legacy shop owners. And we’re giving them a voice. No fluff. No lifestyle branding. Just the truth.
Do you think you’re building the next High Times, or something else entirely?
High Times had its run. It meant something. But we’re not trying to be them. We’re something else. We’re daily. We’re independent. And we’re not polishing anyone’s press release.
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What do people still get wrong about cannabis journalism?
That we’re not real journalists. That we’re just high all day. That we don’t fact-check. We take this seriously. We’re covering corruption, policy, health, surveillance, and more. And we do it better than most legacy newsrooms with budgets ten times the size.
What’s next? What’s your biggest goal going into year 13?
Keep growing the community. Reach more readers. Tell more stories that matter. And keep building something nobody else can fake.
Twelve years in, Pot Culture Magazine is more than a publication. It’s a mission. It’s stubborn. It’s sharp. It’s independent. And it is here, every day, with the stories that matter. This isn’t nostalgia, it’s momentum. We are not done, not close. We are just getting started.
©2025 Pot Culture Magazine. All rights reserved. This content is the exclusive property of Pot Culture Magazine and may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in critical reviews.
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