When you buy high-quality weed, you don’t necessarily need to use it straight away. Weed can maintain its freshness and quality for a long time, often up to a year, meaning that you can stock up and store it for a while if you don’t smoke too frequently. With that said, you’ll need to know how to store weed so it’ll last.
Simply leaving your weed out in the open is never a good idea. Not only can it attract bacteria and potentially pests, but it’s also exposed to heat, light, moisture, and oxygen. All of these things can lower the quality of your weed. When stored poorly, you’ll lose out on its sensational flavor and potent effects.
Fortunately, cannabis storage isn’t too tricky. Knowing the best ways to store your cannabis and the things to avoid can help you keep your favorite strains fresh and strong for a long time. Plus, you don’t need any special knowledge or expensive equipment to store your weed appropriately. On the contrary, even containers you probably have in your house can work well for weed storage.
Here’s everything you need to know about cannabis storage and how to store weed so it’ll last.
What To Avoid With Cannabis Storage
Before delving into the best tips for storing your weed, it’s important to know what not to do. A few rookie mistakes can swiftly ruin the quality of your weed, so knowing what to avoid will help you ensure you keep your cannabis in the best state possible. Most importantly, you should keep your weed away from heat, light, moisture, and air.
Failing to place your weed in a container is one of the worst things you can do. Leaving your cannabis out in the open leads to excessive oxidation, causing cannabinoids and terpenes to evaporate. In other words, your weed will lose its flavor and potency if it’s exposed to too much open air. The best way to prevent this is simply by keeping it in a clean, airtight container.
Light and heat can also ruin the quality of your weed. Even if you’ve stashed it away in a container, you should never put your weed near a window where it’ll be exposed to the sun. Likewise, you shouldn’t put it near anywhere hot, such as kitchen appliances. Storing your weed in a cool, dry place helps prevent these issues.
Moisture can also severely impact the quality of your weed. Dampness can lead to mold and mildew growing across your buds. Not only will your weed be less flavorful, but it could even make you sick if it becomes moldy. Make sure the containers you use for your weed are clean and dry before adding your weed.
Use Sealed Containers To Store Your Weed
Keeping your cannabis in sealed, airtight containers is one of the best ways to make your weed last longer. Airtight containers will immediately help prevent your cannabis from being degraded by oxidation. On top of that, they can keep pests away from your weed and ensure it’s all nearly stored in one place.
One of the most common weed storage solutions is simply to use Mason jars or similar sealed glass jars. Since they’re sturdy and sealable, they’re great for keeping air out and maintaining the freshness of your weed. Plus, they’re cheap and easy to find. You might even have some lying around your house.
Other sealable containers can also work well. For instance, some people use designated cannabis stash boxes or stash bags. Cannabis humidors can also work – these are designed to keep your weed in the best conditions possible, but they’re also expensive. Whichever kind of containers you use, store them in a cool, dry place to limit heat and light exposure.
Before storing your weed in a jar or container, remember to clean it. You don’t want your weed to pick up dust or bacteria. You’ll also need to dry your container thoroughly before adding your weed. Leaving your cannabis around moisture can lead to mold or mildew growing on your buds, making your weed unsafe to use.
Only Grind Your Weed When You Use It
Grinding your weed before adding it to a joint or bowl is always a good idea. After all, ground weed burns more smoothly and evenly, meaning you’ll waste less weed and get better hits. On top of that, you’ll avoid making your joints too lumpy or overfilling your bowls. However, if you’re simply stashing your weed for later use, don’t grind it before storing it.
If you want to store weed so it’ll last, it’s better to keep it in thick, dense nugs. These are better for filling your cannabis containers without leaving too much oxygen in them. Additionally, dense nugs of weed will be easier to take out of your container when you need them and are less likely to attract dust.
The problem with trying to store ground weed is that the small surface area can lead to a lot of problems. Ground weed generally degrades in quality faster, and you might end up trying to scrape tiny bits of cannabis from the bottom of your container. Ground weed is also more likely to be affected by moisture and dust.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t store any ground weed. Just try to limit it as much as possible. If you end up with some extra ground weed, you can still keep it in your container. Another good option is to get a high-quality weed grinder with a storage compartment – these are ideal for storing a small stash of ground weed. The best approach is to only grind about as much as you need for each session and keep the rest of your weed in storage.
Keep Your Weed Away From Other Products
One of the most common rookie mistakes people make when storing their weed is stashing it with other products. Keeping your weed along with your concentrates and edibles isn’t a good idea. Some of these products can rub together, get stuck together, and ultimately impact the quality of your products negatively.
Stashing your cannabis with your lighters, grinders, and rolling papers is also a bad idea. Storing it with smoking accessories like bongs or pipes can be even worse. Not only can these accessories damage your weed, but they’re also more likely to attract bacteria and pass it on to your cannabis.
When storing your weed for long-lasting freshness, it’s best not to add anything else. In other words, use your weed containers for weed alone and store your other products elsewhere. You can still stash your edibles, concentrates, and accessories when you’re not using them – just keep them away from your weed.
If you’re using your weed on the go, this becomes less important. For instance, you might want to carry a small stash of weed along with your smoking essentials in a stash bag if you’re going to a friend’s house. In these cases, just make sure your weed is in a safe bag or container to prevent your accessories from ruining it.
Add Humidity Packs For Long-Lasting Freshness
Keeping your weed away from heat, light, moisture, and air is important, but humidity control is another factor that’s often overlooked. When drying and curing weed, growers often use humidifiers to keep their weed at the best humidity levels possible. However, keeping your stored weed at optimal humidity levels is even easier.
Ideally, your weed should be kept at relative humidity levels of 58 – 62%. You can do this simply by adding a humidity pack to your weed container. Humidity packs are small, convenient, two-way silicone packs that can control relative humidity levels in your containers without any hassle.
Boveda and Integra Boost are popular brands for cannabis consumers, but other kinds of humidity packs can also work well. Just make sure you get humidity packs between 58 to 62% as these are the ideal humidity levels for long-lasting cannabis. Adding humidity packs to your sealed cannabis containers will prevent moist conditions and keep your weed in top-notch quality.
Cannabis humidors are another option. These are dedicated cannabis containers with built-in humidity control. They’re designed to keep your weed at optimal humidity levels while also keeping it away from heat, light, moisture, and air. However, these containers are usually quite expensive and don’t hold as much weed as regular glass jars.
Find A Cool, Dry, Secure Place For Your Containers
Whether you’re using Mason jars, marijuana stash boxes, or even a cannabis humidor, you should still keep your weed containers in a cool, dry place. Some containers – especially transparent glass containers – are easily affected by heat and light, so you should never leave them out in the open.
Simply storing your cannabis containers in a wardrobe, closet, or drawer is a decent approach. You can keep them away from harmful elements while also keeping them away from sight. Plus, it’ll be easy to grab your container and grab the weed you need when you’re ready for your next smoking or vaping session.
If you’re living with others (especially children) you should also take measures to keep your cannabis in a secure place. Keeping your weed out of sight can help prevent a lot of problems, and keeping it out of reach from children is especially important. Fortunately, this shouldn’t be too difficult either.
A lockable desk drawer can work well for secure cannabis storage. Not only does it prevent others from getting into your stash, but it also ensures your weed is in a cool, dry place away from heat and light. Alternatively, lockable boxes or cabinets can work well for giving your weed an extra layer of security.
How To Store Other Cannabis Products
While you shouldn’t store other cannabis products with your weed, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t store them at all. Products like shatter, hash, and wax also need to be stored properly to avoid degradation. Pre-packed products like edibles, tinctures, and topicals are easier to store, but should still be kept away from heat and light.
If you want to store cannabis concentrates for long-lasting freshness, silicone containers are usually the best approach. You can find small silicone containers designed specifically for products like shatter and wax. They prevent sticking, make your extracts easy to access, and keep your products away from the elements to ensure maximum quality.
Cannabis edibles and beverages can be stored just like regular food and drink products. For instance, an unopened cannabis soda can simply be kept in the fridge until you’re ready to drink it. Products like cannabis brownies and gummies can be kept in a cool, dry place like a cupboard or drawer. If you have leftover edibles or homemade edibles, store them in a sealed food container.
Products like cannabis tinctures, topicals, and vape cartridges are usually in handy sealed containers already. You don’t need to transfer them to another container – simply store them in a cool, dry place to prevent heat and light exposure. A drawer or cupboard can work well. You can also store cannabis topicals such as creams and bath bombs in your bathroom cabinet.
Cannabis accessories like grinders, lighters, and rolling papers shouldn’t be stored with your weed or concentrates. However, you might want to put them in a separate stash bag or box simply to keep your gear in one place. Products like bongs and pipes can be kept in a drawer or cupboard. It’s best to clean them after use to prevent bacteria and resin build-up.
Conclusion
Cannabis storage isn’t too tricky when you know what to avoid. If you want to store your weed so it’ll last, simply follow these tips and you won’t have much to worry about. Remember to always keep your weed in sealed containers in cool, dry places to avoid exposure to damaging elements. You should also store other cannabis products separately, albeit still in a cool, dry place.
If you want your weed to last for as long as possible, you should make sure you’re buying high-quality weed from the get-go. Cannabis consumers in Colorado can find a range of top-notch cannabis strains, concentrates, edibles, tinctures, topicals, vape products, and more at The Dispensary.
