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Stepping into Bluebonnet Labs, it looks more like a chemistry lab than a cannabis business. In fact, it’s a combination of the two. Bluebonnet tests for a series of factors and contaminants in compliance with OMMA regulations.
Bluebonnet checks levels of heavy metal, mycotoxins, and pesticides and measures potency, moisture content, and terpene levels.
“You wouldn't even realize how much cross-contamination would happen with just bare hands,” explains Liz O’Neal, who works at Bluebonnet.
Testing for this contamination and other factors, O’Neal explains, is necessary in order to keep cannabis patients safe.
“Obviously mold is dangerous for us in excessive levels, and of course pesticides, metals are really dangerous in excessive levels,” she explains “ And if you were to smoke it, if you were to inhale it, if you were to concentrate it, any form of cannabis edibility, it would not be good for your body. You would get sick.”
Bluebonnet opened in Oklahoma in August 2023, but was already established in Texas as a hemp testing facility and New Mexico testing cannabis years prior.
Soon after finding its footing in Oklahoma, Bluebonnet realized it needed a reliable financial system. Its previous payroll system wasn’t cutting it.
“It was very hit-and-miss, very touch-and-go,” O’Neal says. “It was not very user-friendly and it didn’t really seem like customer service was really a thing and it wasn’t geared towards the user.”
Bluebonnet didn’t have a way to deposit cash safely, let alone log transactions.
And prior to finding a bank that was willing to work with them, it felt a little lonely.
“There aren’t many systems supporting cannabis businesses,” O’Neal explains. “We need actual people who are here to advocate and help support us. We are here to serve people medically.”
That is, until, the Bluebonnet team found Blue Sky Bank and met Deborah Lin, Assistant Vice President and Senior Cannabis Banking Lead at Blue Sky Bank.
O’Neal says she was impressed that Blue Sky Bank had an entire team focused on serving cannabis businesses like theirs, run by a cannabis regulation expert in Deborah Lin.
“It's nice to have them there on standby and to always be able to ask them a question,” O’Neal says, “because there can be a lot of questions and a lot of gray areas in the cannabis industry.”
Bluebonnet also utilizes armored cash transport services offered by Blue Sky Bank through its partner, Pay Cash Group, and O’Neal says having a safe way to deposit cash has been a game changer.
“Security is really important in this business because not only are you dealing with lots of money, you're dealing with possibly lots of weed, or cannabis, and lots of things that people want,” O’Neal says.
With a banking partner in Blue Sky Bank, Bluebonnet feels safer, more supported, and more confident as a cannabis business.
“Blue Sky Bank is on it,” O’Neal says. “I would recommend 1000% without a doubt.”
If you’re interested in working with Blue Sky Bank’s cannabis banking program, fill out the form below or connect with Deborah on LinkedIn.
