It’s now legal to buy cannabis online, and adults can order all kinds of different indica, sativa, and hybrid strains for home delivery. Although there are limits to how much cannabis you can possess in public, you can keep plenty of weed at home as long as you keep it stashed away safely. However, if you’re planning on storing your weed away for a while, knowing the dos and don’ts of storing cannabis is vital.
Cannabis can last for a long time, but not if you store it poorly. As a plant product, cannabis is easily affected by various factors such as excessive heat, sunlight, and moisture. These things can ruin the structure of your cannabis and result in lower-quality buds, lower potency, and all-around worse weed.
There are many ways you can store your cannabis effectively to retain its quality and potency. There are also certain things you should avoid at all costs. Taking a few simple measures to store cannabis for maximum freshness will result in much better weed in the long-run. Here are some of the dos and don’ts of storing cannabis that every weed user should know.
Why Cannabis Storage Is Important
Storing cannabis to maintain long-term quality is important. When you order cannabis online, it’ll come to your door packaged for freshness. However, while these packaging methods will retain the quality of your weed in the short-term, long-term maintenance requires a few extra steps if you want the best quality possible.
As time goes on, cannabis buds start to degrade. Research suggests that cannabis degrades at a rate of about 17% per year, but storing it poorly will speed up this process significantly and result in you smoking lower quality weed.
Fortunately, it isn’t too hard to store cannabis properly. Sometimes it only takes a few household objects or some cheap purchases to ensure that your cannabis maintains its quality in the long term. By taking these steps, you’ll get nice, fresh cannabis every time you smoke and be able to live off your stash for a much longer time.
What Happens If You Store Cannabis Poorly?
Many users fail to store their weed properly. In the short-term, it might not affect much. But there can be consequences to using poor cannabis storage methods for long periods. Cannabis is particularly prone to damage from sunlight, heat, and moisture, which can all affect the quality of your bud.
Storing cannabis poorly can degrade the quality of your weed rapidly. Your weed can end up much less potent and may also produce harsher smoke. Your cannabis flower will start to look worse, lose its color, and become more flaky and brittle.
In the worst cases, your poorly stored weed may even end up having health consequences. Weed is prone to developing mold and mildew if you don’t store it safely. Smoking weed which has been covered in mold or bacteria can end up in you becoming sick. As such, it’s important to at least take a few basic measures to prevent your weed from becoming bad.
DO: Use a Glass Container
One of the most simple yet effective methods for storing your cannabis is to store it in a glass container. As long as your container is clean and dry, you can store weed this way for a long time while still retaining maximum freshness and potency.
It’s best to use a sealed, glass container that keeps any moisture or heat out. There are glass containers designed specifically for storing weed, but you don’t necessarily need to spend the money. Even a handy Mason jar can do the trick for storing weed.
Before you store your weed in a glass container, make sure you wash it out. If you’ve previously stored anything in there before, there could be dust and leftover substances which will impact the quality of your weed. After you wash your jar, make sure you dry it thoroughly- it’s essential to keep your weed away from any moisture.
Once you have a clean and dry glass container, pack in your weed with only a little space left, seal it, and leave it in a cool, dry place away from heat and sunlight.
DO: Use a Cannabis Humidor
Another effective option for storing your weed is to use a cannabis humidor. These are handy containers which are designed specifically for effective cannabis storage. They usually come in the form of a wooden box with glass containers inside. They also have features for maintaining the ideal humidity to keep your weed fresh.
You can generally find cannabis humidors in smoke shops or buy them online. While they may cost you a little more than simply using glass containers, they can be very effective and also make for a cool-looking cannabis accessory. If you don’t mind spending the money, you’ll end up with a great stash box that’s tailored to keep your cannabis at its absolute best.
It’s important to note that cannabis humidors are different from cigar humidors. Don’t try and store weed in a humidor designed for other products as they aren’t designed to store weed.
DO: Use Humidity Packs
Another useful way to keep your weed at its best quality is to use humidity packs. These are small, cheap packs which you can add to cannabis containers to maintain the ideal level of humidity for cannabis storage.
Humidity is important for the freshness of your cannabis. Too much humidity can result in your weed degrading in quality and freshness. However, you don’t want too little either. Humidity packs are designed to soak up the right amount of moisture and heat to ensure your weed ends up staying fresh and potent for a long time.
There are many popular brands of humidity packs such as Boveda and Boost. These products are made specifically for providing 2-way humidity control for any kind of cannabis container. Simply add them to your glass jar, humidor or wherever else you store your weed as a quick and easy way to maintain the right humidity.
These packs are also very cheap and usually come in multipacks, so you won’t have to spend too much extra to use them. It’s a small investment that can result in long-term quality control for your cannabis products.
DO: Store in a Cool, Dry Place
Although keeping your cannabis in the right container is important, where you keep the container can be equally important. Excessive sunlight can damage the quality of your bud, especially if it’s amplified through the glass. Likewise, too much heat is also bad for the freshness of your weed.
No matter what kind of container you keep your weed in, it’s best to store it in a cool, dry place such as a drawer or cupboard. It ensures your weed will be kept at the right temperature and humidity to avoid any possible damage occurring.
Storing your cannabis containers somewhere cool and dry helps keep your products away from heat, light, and moisture, ensuring the maximum quality. You can also keep your cannabis safe this way, especially if you use something like a locked cupboard or cabinet.
DON’T: Store Your Cannabis in Accessories
When you’re feeling stoned and lazy, you might be tempted to leave any leftover weed in your pipe, bong or even your grinder. While it won’t matter too much in the short-term, you don’t want to keep your weed lying around in any accessory for too long.
Leaving leftover weed in your pipe or bong after smoking can result in damage to the fresh buds. It can also result in damage to your smoking utensils. Make sure to remove any leftover weed and wash your accessories after use.
It’s also best not to leave any weed in your grinder for too long. Find somewhere safe to stash it away before using it. Sometimes your grinder will accumulate leftover kief from the weed you grind- you might want to keep this to sprinkle on top of joints or bowls for an extra kick of THC.
DON’T: Put Anything Else in Your Cannabis Containers
When stashing your weed away, you might be tempted to store it along with all your other supplies such as your pipe, grinder, papers, and lighter. As convenient as it might be to keep all of your accessories in one handy container, it’s not ideal for your cannabis.
When you store your smoking accessories with your cannabis, it might be affected by the residue left in your bowl, bacteria or other unwanted impurities. Storing other objects or substances in there can also affect the freshness and purity of your weed.
It’s best to store your weed alone with nothing else along with it. It’s the ideal method for ensuring that nothing affects the quality of your cannabis and you’re left with pure, fresh buds every time.
DON’T: Store Cannabis in the Fridge
Since the refrigerator is there for keeping goods from expiring, some users might think it makes perfect sense to store your cannabis in the fridge. Although some users might do this, it’s a definite no-no when it comes to optimal cannabis storage.
Although your fridge might be great at keeping food products and beverages fresh, it’s not the ideal place to store cannabis. For one, residue from food products might affect your weed if it happens to get into the container.
More importantly, the temperature and humidity conditions of your refrigerator may affect the quality of your weed. Your fridge has constantly fluctuating temperatures when you open and close it, whereas weed should be kept at a consistent temperature. Keeping weed in the fridge will also make it too cold and moisture may even make its way inside. It’s best to keep your weed in a cool, dry place, well away from anywhere with extreme temperatures.
DON’T: Allow Any Moisture or Sunlight In
One of the most important things to avoid when storing your weed is allowing any moisture or sunlight to affect it. These are two of the biggest suspects when it comes to damaged weed, and you’d be wise to avoid them at all costs.
Any kind of moisture can damage your cannabis fast. If your weed is affected by moisture, you’re likely to end up with damp flower that’s hard to light and smoke. In worse cases, your weed might even grow mold and mildew which will affect the quality, potency, and may even result in some harm to your health.
Heat can also affect the quality of your weed, and leaving a container out where it’s affected by sunlight is one of the quickest ways to reduce the quality of your stashed bud. As such, it’s especially important to keep your weed in a cool and dry place, preferably in a dry, sealed container to maintain its freshness and quality.
Best Ways to Store Cannabis
There are a few important keys to storing cannabis effectively. First of all, make sure you use a quality container. You can use a basic glass jar providing that it’s clean and dry or use a container specifically for cannabis such as a cannabis humidor. It’s best to fill your container up with plenty of weed without filling it all the way.
It also helps to use humidity packs in your containers. It’s cheap to buy a multipack of these and they’re designed to give your products 2-way humidity, keeping them at the perfect state. You should also keep your containers of weed in a cool, dry place away from excessive heat, sunlight, and moisture.
These basics will help maintain the quality of your weed for a long time. Only take weed out of your containers when you need to and make sure you don’t make any mistakes such as letting moisture into your containers or keeping smoking accessories in there. As long as you follow these steps, you can enjoy fresh and potent weed consistently.
Conclusion
Cannabis users in Canada can now buy large amounts of cannabis. But if you plan to keep a stash at home, make sure you know how to store it. These steps will ensure you’re left with great weed that’s prime for smoking. If you’re looking to buy cannabis, you can buy all kinds of strains and products online from BudExpressNow.ca.