Washington was one of the first states to bring legal recreational cannabis to the market and has had its fair share of growing pains. Eventually, the challenges led to a several-year decline in consumer spending. Despite multiple attempts to establish rules for legal homegrow, state policy still prohibits at-home adult-use cultivation. The state also has yet to implement a legal pathway for cannabis delivery. These factors lead some to argue the Washington cannabis industry is falling behind.

That’s why local cannabis events are vital to helping industry folks stay engaged and renew their collective sense of purpose. But those benefits don’t pay the bills. Interchange West has set its sights on providing more tangible assistance. 

Although the events kicked off in Washington state, Interchange has grown into a multistate series with local conferences taking place several times throughout the year. The structure is unique and simple, meant to facilitate one-on-one conversations between retailers and producers, processors, and ancillary companies. Companies set up brief, on-site meetings with one another to discuss product offerings and establish new deals.

“It’s not just coming here to have a good time. It’s not a party,” explained Garrett Rudolph, editor-in-chief of Marijuana Venture, which organizes the gatherings. “There are elements of those things, but in the grand scheme, it’s about doing business and being efficient. It’s a really efficient way of doing business, and I think that’s why we’ve been successful in this space.”

Interchange West 2025 took place in Seattle March 11–12, 2025. According to Rudolph, 105 companies attended the event. This was my first time attending the event. Here’s what I learned.

Business trumps pleasure

It’s possible that Washington state industry players are just tired and defeated, but I suspect the business-forward, humble attitude I observed was more a result of the event’s structure. Companies bounced between one-on-one meetings throughout the day, keeping everyone focused on making deals.

“We’re looking for a diverse product selection, not necessarily good prices — though that’s always a bonus,” said Quinn Sharpe, managing partner at Piece of Mind Cannabis, which operates dispensaries in Bellingham and Pullman. The event is “about developing relationships and partnering in a way that boosts their brand and ours. We meet with twenty-two suppliers and if we can make four or five good contacts to take on, that will be a very successful networking event for us.”

Community action, education are keys

Interchange attracted a majority of retailers, producers, and processors, though there were several other groups present, including the membership-based nonprofit The Cannabis Alliance.

“I’m here doing outreach and education on a lot of the initiatives the alliance is working on — things we’re trying to move through the legislative path, things we’re trying to do with the [Liquor and Cannabis Board] to make our ecosystem a little more equitable, forward-thinking, and a little more modern,” said Doug Henderson, Cannabis Alliance board member and owner of Painted Rooster Cannabis Company. 

Confidence Analytics, an ISO 17025-accredited testing lab, also attended the event as part of its mission to push the industry in a positive direction.

“We came here to talk about testing, especially terpene testing, with everybody here,” said Operations Director David Brookshier. “We have a lot of existing and potential customers here. We’ve been trying to steer the industry towards things besides THC potency when looking at quality. We’re here pursuing that mission.” 

Friendly competition

Competition is naturally embedded in any trade event — as it should be. It’s how the industry evolves and grows stronger. 

“One of the big reasons we came here was to generate leads on exciting trends and opportunities for our stores and to gather market research on our partners and competitors,” said David Ezenwa, vendor manager for tribal-owned Commencement Bay Cannabis. “We also want to gauge where the overall market is headed.”

Looking ahead

All legal markets face growing pains and setbacks that challenge the best efforts to create a thriving industry. Washington is no different.

“It’s a tough industry,” said Rudolph. “We’re seeing price compression impact operators pretty substantially. To some degree, it’s bleeding down to retailers. A lot of retailers say they’re essentially moving the same amount of product as they once were, but they’re not generating the same revenue.”

Despite the hurdles in the Washington market, Interchange attendees could not avoid developing a renewed sense of optimism for the cannabis industry. So many businesses coming together for a shared purpose was encouraging and inspiring.