Weed is often stored in a cool, dark environment to stay fresh and potent for longer. But how long can you store weed before it actually goes bad? If you’re a passionate weed smoker, you may have already discovered some long-forgotten stash somewhere in the back of your drawer at least once. This probably left you excited as well as wondering if it’s still good to smoke since you don’t know for how long you’ve had it.
Unfortunately, like any other plant, cannabis can go bad after a certain period of time. Depending on how you store it, it will affect its potency. You can prevent such a scenario by learning a few tips and tricks to keep your stash of weed fresh and flavorful for up to a year or even longer. Follow this guide to see how long weed stays fresh once you store it and what happens when it goes bad.
How long does weed last in storage?
There are a few reasons why weed enthusiasts should worry about the longevity of their weed once it is stored because cannabis can be expensive, so you don’t want it to go to waste prematurely.
Cannabis growers or avid smokers that purchase weed in larger quantities should know how to store it correctly to preserve it for later use. But how long does weed stay fresh once it is cured? The freshness of cannabis solely depends on how well it is stored. For example, if you do it in an old-fashioned way and keep it rolled up in a plastic bag, your weed will likely dry out in a week or so.
If you keep it under the right storage conditions and invest in high-quality airtight storage containers, you will be able to preserve your stash for a long time. When it is properly harvested, then dried in the ideal conditions, cured and stored in a clean space, cannabis can stay fresh for six months to about a year. In addition, if you’ve taken all the right measures to store your buds properly, and you’re a bit lucky, you might even be able to extend that timeline by up to two years if the conditions are perfect.
How to keep weed fresh for longer
Proper cannabis storage is essential for having a flavorful and potent weed. This means that it shouldn’t be exposed to the elements such as extreme temperatures, high or low humidity, air or light. High moisture is usually the biggest threat to cannabis storage as it can have serious health consequences by triggering mold growth. That’s why keeping your weed in the proper relative humidity levels and appropriate temperatures is essential. The ideal level is between 58% RH to 65% RH.
But how long can you store weed and keep it fresh? If you keep it in proper condition, it can remain stable for up to two years. High-quality storage containers also play a big role in keeping your cannabis fresh, so make sure you avoid using plastic bags and storing your weed in the fridge. By keeping it in airtight glass jars and using humidity packs, you can consume potent and flavorful buds even after a long time. Keeping it in a cool and dark place in adequate containers will also drastically lower the risk of degradation of your terpenes and cannabinoids, which play a vital role in the flavor and aroma of a cannabis strain.
How to know when weed goes bad
Cannabis often requires a little extra care to ensure you’re getting the most out of it. However, like any other plant, it can go bad after some time. Once it becomes dry and harsh to smoke, it will have a limited flavor and a much weaker effect. This happens because of the loss of terpenes and the degradation of cannabinoids in weed.
If your stash sits unused for too long or you leave it exposed to too much air and direct light, it will quickly dry out and turn into a crumbly, ineffective herb. On the other hand, if your buds are exposed to too much humidity they will go moldy. Inhaling mold smoke can make you feel sick, but it may not lead to any serious health issues in recreational weed smokers. However, it may affect people with underlying health conditions. Carefully check your weed for mold as it can be hard to notice. It usually looks like white powdery spots, some of which can be quite small, and often smell musty.
Can you use stale weed?
Cannabis over time loses its main psychoactive component (THC), and therefore its potency. However, you can still smoke it even if it doesn’t have the piney weed taste. Stale weed may not affect your health but it will taste different and won’t be as enjoyable to smoke. One way to discover whether your stash has gone stale is by sniffing it. Once it starts to smell dry and dusty and loses the distinctive sharp scent that fresh weed usually has it means that it has become stale.
Besides losing potency over time, your stash will also lose its texture, aroma, and flavor. In extreme cases, you may end up with nothing more than a pile of tasteless, crumbly dust that you cannot use. To prevent this from happening, try to preserve your precious cannabis for as long as possible by providing proper storage techniques such as keeping it in appropriate containers and under ideal conditions. But discovering bad weed doesn’t have to be disappointing, as you can still salvage it by using other methods of consumption rather than smoking it.
When you keep weed in an airtight glass jar, the buds become dehydrated, so you can toss in a few humidity packs or fruit peels to return its moisture. You can also vaporize your old weed or turn it into edibles. However, before you attempt to use any old weed, make sure that no rot or mold has grown since the last time you saw it. Use your eyes and nose to scan carefully for white, fluffy mold and musty scents that remind you of rot.
Bottom Line
There are quite a lot of factors that determine how long can you store weed before it goes bad, but in reality, it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Simply provide a cool and dark place for your weed containers as well as ideal conditions like humidity control, oxygen exposure, light exposure, and ideal temperatures, so it doesn’t produce mold.
Knowing how to determine whether your stash has gone bad will help you avoid any unnecessary health issues. If you see any white fuzzy mold, discolored spots, or if it smells different from the usual cannabis smell, don’t mess with it. Follow this guide and use proper storage containers so you can enjoy a flavorful and potent weed for a long time.
Source: cannador.com
Image: freepik.es
