Have you ever found yourself wondering why your stash seems to degrade in quality and lose potency over time? There’s a high chance that it’s because you aren’t storing your cannabis properly – and no, a plastic baggie is not the correct method. As a matter in fact, leaving your craft cannabis in a baggie can actually be doing more harm than good. In this article, we’ll be breaking down how to properly store cannabis and preserve those precious terpenes.
To learn how to properly preserve your stash, we first must understand what elements factor into degrading your marijuana. For example, leaving your buds out in the sunlight is one of the primary ways weed can lose potency. Here are the top 4 elements that could be affecting the way you smoke:
- Light
Believe it or not, sunlight is one of the main threats to degrading your cannabis. UV photons from sun-rays break down chemical bonds in THC molecules which is why it’s important to keep your weed out of direct sunlight. A study done at Orange Photonics actually measured the relationship between direct sunlight & THC content in which they found a 0.5% THC loss with each hour of sunlight.
- Air
In addition to sunlight, oxygen is another major threat to cannabis preservation. This is because oxygen slowly converts THC into CBN, a metabolite created as THC-A oxidizes. On the contrary, not enough oxygen could raise humidity levels which results in mould. Your best option would be an airtight container like a mason jar.
- Humidity
Too much moisture does not directly affect the quality of your cannabis but it can start the growth of mould, making your weed unsafe to consume. Experts suggest storing your cannabis in the 59 – 63 RH range. Lucky for us, we can find humidity packs like Boveda Packs that we can just throw into our jars to maintain proper humidity levels.
- Temperature
To keep your top-notch weed in pristine health, make sure to store it in a temperature controlled environment. High temperatures are terpenes biggest enemy, you don’t want to leave your buds out too long in the heat. Heat causes terpenes to degrade – essentially losing its beautiful smell and flavour. This is why so many people preach to keep your buds in a cool, dark place below 78 degrees.
Other factors to avoid:
- Do not store your cannabis in plastic products such as baggies or containers. Plastic tends to produce a static charge which results in trichomes falling off your buds and sticking to the sides of the container/bag.
- Do not store your cannabis in the refrigerator or freezer. This is a mistake TONS of stoners make. As the temperatures get too low, trichomes can also start to freeze and fall off the buds.
- Avoid tobacco humidifiers. These are often made out of wood (cedar) and transfer oils and odours meant for cigars to your weed.
The Correct Method To Storing Cannabis
Regardless if you are new to cannabis or a seasoned user, knowing how to store cannabis correctly is critical to get the best out of the cannabis you just picked up from your dispensary – especially if you buy weed online. So how can we manage all of the elements above and keep our stash fresh? Just follow these few tips & tricks:
- Container: Popular with cannabis cultivators, using an airtight, glass container like a mason jar is your best bet. Try to fit your buds as snuggly as possible, keeping excess oxygen in the jar to a minimum.
- Humidity: To keep your buds at the correct humidity levels, consider adding two way humidity packs such as Boveda Packs or Integra Boost to your mason jars. They will keep the relative humidity within the jar at optimal levels.
- Location: Keep it in a cool, dark place away from any UV lights or heat sources – a closet, drawer or shelf works fine.
- Be Gentle: Vigorously handling your weed will accelerate the ageing process and lose those precious layers of trichomes.
Takeaway
All in all, storing your cannabis correctly will help preserve the overall quality as well as maintain potency. Marijuana typically has a shelf-life of six to eight months however, to get the best bud out of your buck experts recommend smoking your marijuana as soon as possible.
