How to store your stash?

The weed scene has advanced in ways we would not have believed possible a decade or so ago. Who would have imagined back then that in 2021, we would be browsing an online store, choosing our smoke of choice just as casually as a connoisseur perusing a wine list?

However, while your professionally grown and neatly packaged purchase might well have a date of harvest written on it, it’s highly unlikely to come with an expiration date. One thing that hasn’t changed is that cannabis is a valuable commodity. You can easily spend $200 or more on an ounce of weed, and for that money, you want to make sure the last grains provide as good a smoke as the first. It all comes down to understanding how to store your stash.

Moisture

People worry about their weed drying out, but in fact, the bigger threat is moisture. If cannabis is stored in a damp or humid environment, it encourages the growth of mold spores. Ignore the urban myths that smoking moldy weed creates a “better high” – that’s dangerous nonsense, and in truth, the most that the mycotoxins present in mold will do is give you a nasty cough, or sometimes flu-like symptoms. When you buy weed online, it is packed in such a way to retain just the right moisture level so that it doesn’t dry out but the risk of mold is minimized. It’s important to try to maintain that balance, and the next steps will help you do so.

Temperature

The perfect temperature for storing weed is 70F (21C). Anything higher and you will be more likely to dry the weed out, or to encourage mold growth if the environment is humid. Don’t be tempted to put it in the fridge, though. The fluctuations in temperature and humidity will do it more harm than good. The ideal spot is somewhere cool such as a pantry or closet.

How to store your stash – Light and air

Way back in 1976, a journal called Pharmacy and Pharmacology published a study on how cannabis behaves when stored under different conditions. The authors concluded that UV light is the single largest factor in deterioration of cannabinoids like THC. Conversely, they found that when kept in the dark at the optimum moisture and temperature, the weed could be stored for as long as two years without significant degradation. In addition, prolonged exposure to air leads to oxidation, giving your weed that almost grass-like smell. So while a jar might seem like a suitable storage receptacle, you should avoid clear glass. Alternatively, box or tin with an airtight lid is just perfect.

Keep them separate

Finally, many of us like to have a few different strains of weed in stock to suit our mood. Keep each one in its own container so that it retains its unique characteristics of flavor and odor. If you put them all in the same pot, they will ultimately become indistinguishable from one another.