When we were younger, the only correct answer to the question 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the best way to store weed?鈥� was 鈥淗ide it somewhere where the parents can鈥檛 find it or smell it.鈥�
That wasn鈥檛 the wrong answer at the time. But we鈥檙e all at least a little older now, and the question deserves a more serious discussion.
You might be thinking that there鈥檚 only one correct answer to this question 鈥� you keep it in an air-tight jar and not a baggie. You鈥檙e partially right; that鈥檚 one very good answer. But there鈥檚 more to it than that.
Before deciding where to keep your stash, it鈥檚 best to understand a little about pot and its properties.
How to Store Marijuana
Cannabis, even if it鈥檚 been cured, has four natural environmental enemies: moisture, light, oxygen and high temperatures. That鈥檚 why 鈥渁ir-tight jar鈥� gets only partial credit on our quiz; it鈥檚 a good start, but just not enough to fully protect your weed.
Let鈥檚 talk about each of those natural enemies.
Light
A study done nearly 50 years ago was the first reliable evidence to support what most stoners of the 1970s already knew: light is weed鈥檚 biggest enemy. The worst culprits are the UV rays produced by the sun, but common CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs also emit a good deal of ultraviolet light, and even regular fluorescent bulbs can damage your herb.
THC is extremely susceptible to UV rays because it鈥檚 a relatively unstable compound. Over time, the light will cause THC to degrade and turn into CBN (cannabinol), which doesn鈥檛 get you very high at all. Other cannabinoids like 嫩草影院 will also suffer degradation with prolonged exposure to light.
That鈥檚 one reason why 鈥渁ir-tight jar鈥� wasn鈥檛 100% correct. Mason jars are terrific in sealing out the oxygen (we鈥檒l get to that in a minute), but clear ones won鈥檛 stop UV light from slowly destroying your pot. Brown ones will, which is why you should ideally use brown air-tight jars (that鈥檚 why you often see beer in brown bottles). Green is a decent second choice since it will filter out about one-third of the UV rays.
And keeping the jars in a dark closet, drawer or pantry will go a long way toward protecting your flower from the light.
Oxygen
You already know that an air-tight jar is the best container for storing weed, and you can probably guess why. Too much air 鈥� more specifically, too much oxygen 鈥� can speed up the THC degradation process in the same way that light does, turning it into CBN. It can also oxidize terpenes and affect the taste and aroma of the bud.
An air-tight jar is crucial for storing your cannabis, but it shouldn鈥檛 be too large since that will leave lots of oxygen trapped inside. Choose one which is just big enough to comfortably hold the buds, but won鈥檛 force you to pile them on top of each other. Too-close quarters will increase humidity and create moisture 鈥� and as you鈥檒l learn shortly, that鈥檚 another big enemy of pot.
Temperature
Weed stored in high temperatures won鈥檛 last long without losing most of its potency, aroma, and flavor. Heat, of course, dries out the flower, and also causes terpenes to evaporate. Needless to say, that鈥檚 not what we鈥檙e looking for. In addition, once the temperature inside the storage jar gets close to 80掳, moisture will develop and make the environment perfect for mold growth.
That means you want to store your cannabis in a dry, cool place where the temperature won鈥檛 vary very much. Storage closets, basements and even drawers that aren鈥檛 regularly opened regularly and are in a cool area of the house are your best choices.
Moisture
Properly-processed pot is dried and cured and then packaged with the optimal amount of moisture to keep it fresh and not brittle. When things are done right, buds will be packaged when they have moisture content somewhere between 5% and 10%.
When you store it at home, your goal should be to maintain that amount of moisture. If it becomes drier some of the weed鈥檚 terpenes are likely to evaporate, altering its taste, its aroma 鈥� and a good deal of its potency. Additionally, trichomes (which contain the THC and 嫩草影院) will break down and may even break off completely once nugs become brittle.
On the other hand, if more moisture is absorbed by the flower, you can have an even bigger problem: mold, which proliferates in moist, humid conditions. Cannabis which has been exposed to high humidity levels for even a few hours can start to grow mold within a day. Not only can that ruin your stash, consuming moldy weed can make you quite sick.
Any moisture that may be created in your pot container is closely related to temperature and light, which we鈥檝e already discussed. But one key to properly storing your cannabis is maintaining the right relative humidity inside the container, keeping it between 55% and 65%.
鈥淵eah, but how do you do that?鈥� we hear you ask. Actually, it鈥檚 not hard. There are humidity control packets like Integra Boost or Bodeva which can be put right into your jar, and control capsules from companies like Evergreen Storage, which do the job for you and are worth the investment.
Best Ways to Store Weed 鈥� Putting it All Together
You鈥檝e probably been taking a mental inventory of your home or living space while reading, to figure out a spot that meets all of these criteria. Houses and apartments vary, of course. But generally speaking, you want to store your weed in a brown mason jar (or other glass containers) that鈥檚 kept in a cool, dry part of the home that doesn鈥檛 experience temperature variation and doesn鈥檛 get much (or any) light.
Have a basement with a closet that doesn鈥檛 get ice-cold in the winter? That鈥檚 the obvious winner. Otherwise, pick the spot that comes closest to meeting the conditions which will preserve your pot for the longest period of time.
Why do we specify a glass jar instead of plastic? The discharge of static electricity is common with plastic of any sort, including containers, and that will blast the weed鈥檚 trichomes to kingdom come in a flash. You should also avoid keeping your bud in baggies for the long-term, not only because of static discharge possibilities but because static attraction can pull trichomes off of the cannabis and leave them stuck to the side of the bag. Baggies aren鈥檛 really air-tight, either.
What about the Refrigerator or Freezer?
Refrigerators are an often-used but less-than-ideal locations for storing weed. Their temperatures and humidity levels can fluctuate quite a bit, often leading to mold or THC degradation. They鈥檙e better than leaving your bud sitting out on a kitchen counter, but not by a lot.
Many people keep their mason jars in freezers for long-term storage, since the temperature and humidity don鈥檛 usually vary much. However, freezing makes the trichomes brittle and if the jar isn鈥檛 treated extremely gently, they can fall off. If you鈥檙e going to freeze your weed, be very careful handling it, and be sure to defrost it completely (letting the jar come to room temperature before opening it) to minimize the danger of ruining your stash.