After years of hosting events in Washington, Marijuana Venture finally brought its highly successful Interchange format to Oregon, welcoming nearly 100 of the leading producers, retailers and ancillary businesses for two days’ worth of speed networking and sales.
“We’re all still talking about it in the industry so I’d say it was a huge success!” said Krista Browning, from Otis Gardens.
Interchange Portland was March 9-10 at the DoubleTree Hilton convention center. In addition to the individually scheduled sales meetings that are a cornerstone of Interchange, the event featured a presentation on the latest rules, regulations and policies from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission and an update on lobbying efforts by the Oregon Retailers of Cannabis Association.
ORCA executive director Casey Houlihan drew a round of applause from the crowd in talking about how proposed tax increases on cannabis were shot down during the legislative session — but he warned the businesspeople in attendance that lawmakers would certainly be revisiting the tax issue in the near future, so they need to be prepared to fight that battle once again.
Overall, the event was a massive success, and event organizers are in the process of planning the next event in Oregon. Marijuana Venture also has two more Interchange events scheduled in Washington for June 14-15 and November 8-9, and is looking at expanding the event to states like Colorado and Michigan in the second half of 2022.
“Interchange offers absolutely the highest ROI of any conference I’ve ever attended,” said Carleen Krug, from Terrayn. “The event attracts high-quality retailers who are genuinely interested in new strategies to grow their business. Interchange also offers ample opportunities to socialize with both retailers and other attendees from across the industry. It’s wonderful to know that, from the moment we arrive at the conference, everything will be taken care of for us by their phenomenal organizers,” she said. “I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you’re looking to get a foothold in the cannabis market, there’s no better place to start than at an Interchange conference.”
For more information, visit www.InterchangeMV.com.