So you’ve gotten your hands on some quality weed from your favorite marijuana dispensary. Your next challenge is figuring out how to keep it fresh until you can enjoy it all.
There are plenty of reasons you’ll want to preserve your marijuana’s freshness for as long as possible. For one thing, fresh cannabis has the best aroma, flavor, and potency—all qualities that will diminish as it dries out. And if your cannabis is too moist or damp, it will not only be harder to smoke, but may also start to host mold, bacteria, and other pathogens.
For the most part, keeping your weed fresh comes down to storing it properly. There are a few factors you’ll have to consider here, including humidity, light, and heat. This handy guide from FlyBuds offers seven tried-and-true storage tips to make sure your flower stays good and potent for as long as possible.
Use Airtight, UV-Protected Glass Containers
Exposure to light, heat, and oxygen will degrade the terpenes and cannabinoids found in marijuana. Proper storage is the key to slowing down this process so you can enjoy your weed for longer. As a general rule, it’s best to store weed in a UV-protected glass jar with an airtight lid. Just make sure that your jars are clean, sterilized, and free of moisture before you put the weed in.
Avoid Using Plastic or Silicone for Weed Storage
Conversely, plastic or silicone containers aren’t ideal for storing cannabis long-term. This is because the plant’s trichomes will often stick to the walls of these containers, which, in turn, makes the cannabis less potent over time. If you must store your weed in a plastic container, only do so short-term until you find a more suitable jar for it.
Recent studies also show that the terpenes in marijuana can degrade silicone, causing toxins in the silicone to leach into the weed. This risk is especially high for cannabis extracts, concentrates, and other liquid forms stored in silicone containers.
Store in a Cool, Dry Environment
To minimize light and air exposure, store your cannabis in a dark, dry, and cool place. Temperatures between 50℉ and 86℉ are ideal for preventing the cannabinoids and terpenes in the weed from degrading. Avoid exposing cannabis to direct sunlight.
Don’t Freeze or Refrigerate
It might seem like a good idea at first to refrigerate your cannabis, but keep in mind that the temperature in your fridge is actually less stable than in other storage environments. This is because opening and closing the doors frequently causes the temperature inside the fridge to fluctuate. These fluctuations can eventually cause condensation to build up inside your containers, leading to the formation of mold and other pathogens.
Freezing cannabis is also not recommended because the trichomes on the cannabis flower are extremely fragile. Freezing cannabis makes it brittle and may result in frozen trichomes breaking off, which reduces your weed’s potency.
Only Grind What You Intend to Use
Many people prefer to fill their grinders by using more than one bud, but unless you mean to smoke all that weed within the day, it’s generally a better idea to grind only as much as you need. Grinding your cannabis breaks off the trichomes from the main plant, which will cause the terpenes in the plant to degrade at a faster rate.
The longer ground-up weed is made to sit, the faster it will dry out and lose its flavor and aroma. As a result, ground cannabis will never last as long as whole cannabis flowers, even with proper storage. If you must store ground weed, use it up within 30 days for the best possible experience.
Invest in a Weed Humidor
Many marijuana enthusiasts invest in specialized humidors to store their weed in. A humidor is a wooden box that was originally invented to keep cigars at the ideal humidity levels. Humidors come with small built-in hygrometers and humidifiers to help you calibrate just the right temperature and degree of humidity for your cannabis within the box. They also block any light from reaching the cannabis so that it stays in mint condition longer.
Avoid Buying in Bulk
While it might be tempting to buy cannabis in bulk, the last thing you want is for your weed to dry out or spoil before you can use it. As mentioned above, even properly stored cannabis will inevitably go bad over time, so it’s best to smoke all the weed you buy within three months at the most.
To enjoy weed at its freshest and strongest, of course, the best way is still to consume it as soon as you buy it. After all, that’s when it’s guaranteed to not only taste and smell best, but also have the most potent effects. Because weed degrades easily, storing your cannabis stash properly is the key to helping it retain its potency. Following the above tips will ensure that you always get the most pleasant experience from consuming cannabis, with all the desired effects.
