When you purchase cannabis at a Massachusetts dispensary, it usually comes in a plastic tube or resealable bag. While they’re a great way to bring your haul home, these original containers are not the best way to store weed, especially long-term.
Cannabis flower is a perishable product just like food. If it’s not stored properly, it can start to degrade rather quickly, losing potency, terpenes, and taste. If you don’t plan to use your cannabis right away, you should preserve it in the correct conditions.
Here are some tips on how to store weed and factors to keep in mind for quality cannabis storage.
What Affects the Quality of Cannabis?
There are four main factors that can cause your cannabis to degrade. In some cases, prolonged exposure can ruin your stash. Here are the most important things to consider for weed storage.
Moisture
The cannabis flower you purchase at a Massachusetts dispensary has been carefully dried and cured. This process allows flower to last longer and makes it easier to smoke.
If weed is exposed to high humidity in the air, it can start to absorb moisture and degrade. Mold and mildew may form on your flower, making it unusable and potentially dangerous. If humidity is too low, your cannabis could become fragile and brittle.
You should keep your cannabis flower in an environment with a humidity level of about 59-63%. If you can’t regulate the humidity of your home, you can purchase humidity control packs that will help regulate your cannabis storage container.
Heat
The best way to store weed is in a cool place. Your flower should be kept in an area that stays between 60-70°F. If it’s exposed to much higher temperatures, it could become moldy. If it’s kept way too cold, you could lose potency, flavor, aroma, and plant potency overall.
Light
Reducing the amount of sunlight your cannabis receives is the best way to store weed. UV light reduces the potency of cannabis significantly, and it doesn’t take very long to start affecting your bud. Keep your cannabis storage container out of direct sunlight or pick one that doesn’t allow UV rays inside.
Airflow
An important part of storing weed is to keep it away from oxygen and airflow. Oxygen can cause your flower’s cannabinoids to deteriorate and terpenes to evaporate. Using an airtight storage container is how to keep weed fresh.
Best Cannabis Storage Containers
The best way to store weed is in a high-quality storage container. The best material for weed storage is glass. Metal can affect the taste and aroma of your flower, and plastic can cause your buds to sweat moisture and become moldy. Glass will keep your weed fresh and preserve its original flavor.
A glass mason jar is an easy, inexpensive cannabis storage container. They’re airtight and will keep your cannabis in great condition. You can even choose one that’s UV-resistant with brown or green glass.
You may also purchase a stash jar from a cannabis dispensary or accessory company. These jars are specially made for weed storage. However, they’re sometimes more expensive than a mason jar while giving the same result.
Do’s & Don’ts of Cannabis Storage
Do
Keep Children & Pets Safe
If you have kids or pets in your household, how to keep weed fresh may look a little different. You can find some mason jars that come with their own child-proof lids, although they’re more expensive. You can also purchase child-resistant mason jar lids by themselves so you can swap them out on different sized jars when needed.
In addition, when storing weed, you should keep your stash in a locked closet, drawer, cupboard, or safe. Keep it out of sight and out of reach. If your children don’t know where you store your cannabis, it’s much less likely that they’ll get into it.
Add a Humidity Control Pack
Maintaining the right humidity levels in your glass container is an important part of the best way to store weed. However, controlling the humidity in your home can be difficult, especially if you live in a very humid environment.
To regulate the humidity of your cannabis, place a humidity control pack inside your storage container. It will regulate the humidity inside your glass jar and ensure that your cannabis stays fresh.
Keep Your Buds from Moving Around
You should keep your weed storage container stationary as much as possible. When the flower moves around in its jar, it creates friction, which can cause it to lose its trichomes. It may even cause nugs to fall apart.
In addition, opening the jar allows air to enter. Keep it closed as much as possible. If you’re storing a large amount of cannabis, you might consider moving some flower to a smaller container for regular use so you can open your large jar less often.
Don’t
Use a Container That’s Too Large
Mason jars prevent outside air from affecting the quality of your cannabis. However, when you seal the weed storage container, the air currently inside remains.
To limit air exposure, choose a jar that you can fill about 2/3 of the way with cannabis flower. This limits the amount of air in the jar while also ensuring that your weed isn’t crushed or overly compacted.
Store Your Cannabis in the Fridge or Freezer
When some people hear that the best way to store weed is in a cool, dark place, they jump to putting their cannabis in the refrigerator or freezer. However, this definitely isn’t a good idea for short term use. Long term storage over 1 year can be put in a freezer.
The extremely cold temperatures will cause your marijuana flower to get brittle and dry. Trichomes snap off and bud breaks apart when you handle it. In addition, the humidity levels in your fridge are completely wrong for cannabis, and you might even notice condensation on your jar.
We recommend storing your cannabis at about 60-70°F. If your home is regularly warmer than that, especially in the summer, choose a dark area that’s away from the warmth of the sun like a closet or drawer.
Store Ground Cannabis Long-Term
Ground weed won’t last as long as whole buds, no matter how you store it. We recommend consuming ground cannabis within 30 days. In the meantime, it can be stored just like whole flower.
Final Thoughts: How to Store Your Cannabis
Storing your weed properly ensures that you have the best smoking experience every time. You can enjoy all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and trichomes found in fresh cannabis every time you get high.
Looking for the freshest cannabis in Massachusetts? Visit Blackstone Valley Cannabis in Uxbridge, MA and place an online order for fresh cannabis today!
We only sell flower that we purchased within 120 days to ensure that you start out your journey of how to keep weed fresh with the best products on the market. In addition, we sell our own stash jar, making it easy to find the best way to store weed.
