How To Store Your Stash

Knowing how to store weed correctly is easily the most important aspect of using it. Storing it incorrectly can reduce its flavor, potency and in the worse cases grow mold, making it unsafe to smoke.

Irritatingly, there is a lot of misinformation out there on storage techniques, and many of the methods that come to mind often turn out to be some of the worst. For example, leaving buds in plastic or ziplock bags, in room temperature will not keep weed for any extended amount of time.

If it sounds complicated, don’t worry. Really, it all comes down to 4 major factors: temperature, air control, light settings and humidity.

Making sure each of these are up to scratch will determine whether your stash will last 6 months or 6 minutes.

So, lets take a look at all of them.

 

Ideal temperatures

Mold and mildew are important to keep an eye out for when storing weed.

Temperatures above 25° c will cause these spores to thrive. So naturally, keeping your weed in a cool, dark place is the way to go. Similarly, high heat can dry out cannabis, resulting in a reduced flavor and a harsh smoke.

A cabinet in a dark corner, or basement would be an ideal place.

 

Humidity

If you somewhere with a consistent climate, you may not have heard of RH, or relative humidity. It’s essentially the measure of the water vapor content in the air as a percentage.

High humidity, similar to heat, will attract mold. It can affect the color, aroma, flavor and texture as well. A room RH of above 65% will place your cannabis at risk, so try to keep the humidity below that number.

Be careful not to go too low, however.

Below 30 – 40% runs the risk of drying out the oils and trichomes in the weed.

The use of Boveda packs will definitely help to keep your weed humidity levels in the proper range.

We sell Boveda packs at all of our locations. Click HERE to choose a store location and shop.

 

Light and UV damage

If you’ve ever seen a grass lawn turn brown towards the end of summer, you’ll know the damage that harmful UV rays can cause organic material.

Extended exposure to the sun can be the biggest contributor to your cannabis degrading, so you should ensure that it is stored outside of direct sunlight.

This will also help you control the temperature and humidity levels more efficiently, preventing the sunlight from fluctuating these conditions.

 

Air control

As with the previous conditions, you want to optimize the amount of oxygen your weed is getting when stored, though this is less of an issue if your weed is completely dried before storage.

Too little air can increase the RH levels, especially if the amount is reducing over time. Conversely, an abundance of airflow can increase the degradation rate. Anyone with a well-stocked vegetable pantry can attest to this.

Consider investing in sealed glass containers. Vacuum pumped canning jars are especially good, as you can control exactly how much oxygen the weed is getting as it is stored. This will also help stabilize moisture levels.

The reason we suggest glass, over metal or plastic containers that could also be sealed, is that glass won’t affect the smell or taste of the buds. Cannabis can absorb or shed a lot of flavor when it interacts with other materials, so minimizing that by using glass is invaluable.

 

The don’ts:

Many people just don’t seriously consider how to store their weed. This is generally not an issue if you frequently use what you have, but it can build up some bad habits for the times you do have more than you intend to use in the short term.

So here are some quick “don’ts” for storing your weed:

• Don’t store cannabis in the refrigerator. It seems an obvious thing to do to prolong its life and it is a common mistake among newer users. The changes in humidity and temperature will actually cause mold. Worse still, when chilled, the buds will absorb moisture from the air, potentially ruining their flavor and texture.
• Similarly, don’t store it in your freezer. This is actually worse than keeping it in the fridge as the sub 0 temperatures can completely destroy the trichomes in the weed.
• As mentioned, storing weed in plastic or ziplock bags is a big no-go. Plastic can encourage sweating, resulting in dried out and brittle cannabis. You’ll also end up with a product that has little potency and could even crumble under any touch, so avoid plastic bags as much as possible.
• Location matters. Storing in warm places, such as above electronic appliances or in a kitchen, will heat up your cannabis. A cold, dark location such as a low shelf or corner cupboard is ideal.

 

Smell-proof:

So, now that you know how to keep your weed fresh for longer, let’s consider other areas of weed storage – namely, smell.

The best way to smell-proof your weed is an airtight container. This, helpfully, is the perfect container for keeping cannabis healthy. If the air can’t escape, then neither can the smell.

Another option are specifically designed odor-proof bags. Just make sure to avoid plastic ones for the aforementioned reasons.

 

Final piece of advice from us:

To round this off, let’s look at some general storage tips to keep your weed lasting longer:

• Ensure your storage locations are clean. This should be obvious, but you’ll be surprised how many stash’s I see that are absolutely filthy. It stands to reason that a dirty surface or container will contaminate the weed inside. So, make sure you dust and/or vacuum surfaces and thoroughly clean any containers before storage.
• For very long term storage – we’re talking months not weeks – a humidity pack is a great investment. These will keep the contents at a consistent humidity, often around 58%, which will preserve quality for extended periods without regularly checking humidity levels.

 

Bonus – Pro Tip

If your flower is dry, add a Boveda pack and it will fluff right up again.