How Long Does Weed Stay Good: Cannabis Shelf Life

Some people don’t have to worry about keeping weed for long periods since they don’t buy a lot of weed at once. However, if you grow your weed or purchase large quantities, you’ll need to preserve it so you can enjoy it later. 

Remember that whether you preserve your flowers right or not determines how long the weed stays fresh after curing.

After all, weed is a relatively expensive substance no one wants to waste. This article will explain how to discern old weed from new weed, how long weed keeps its potency, and how you can extend this period.

Beware of THC Loss

THC makes cannabis so potent, and THC levels gradually decline as bud remains in storage for longer periods. To be more exact, the amount of THC that was initially present in your bag of pot will decrease by 17 percent after being stored for a year. 

After two years, the THC content of the plant will be reduced by 27%. After three years of storage, the amount of THC that has been lost will reach 35 percent, and after four years of storage or more, you’ll be lucky if your weed keeps 50 percent of the initial THC content it had when harvested.

This implies that if you begin with a pack of the pot with 20 percent THC, it will only have approximately 10 percent THC by the time you find it 3-4 years later. Of course, you can smoke it even then, but the effects won’t be that satisfying.

Like anything else in the cannabis plant, terpenes degrade with time, which means the weed you have will lose its aroma and flavor. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect old weed to smell or taste like freshly cured buds.

Although weed may slowly lose potency and flavor over long periods, it will never “expire” the same way groceries do. This doesn’t mean you should allow your weed to go bad. Besides the significant problem of it losing potency over time, weed will also slowly lose its aroma, texture and flavor.

In extreme cases, you will be left with nothing more than a stash of impotent, crumbly dust that isn’t usable for anything.

Conditions Determining Weed Freshness

The first thing that you need to do is understand the variables that keep weed from going stale. Your long-lost weed can still be excellent after several months of storage, but it can crumble into a bag of dust due to the conditions in which you keep it.

It’s good to know that weed strains that have been properly harvested, dried, cured, and kept will stay fresh for longer – often anywhere from six months to a year. The bad news is that professional harvesting, drying, curing, and storage may be expensive.

This implies that if you buy your weed from a dispensary, you already purchase weed that will maintain its potency for the longest possible time. However, in addition to pre-purchase conditions, a few environmental factors might impact your weed freshness after purchase.

Humidity

As noted earlier, maintaining an appropriate humidity level in your weed storage area is critical in keeping the quality of your weed and ensuring that it is safe to use. If you store weed in an excessively humid atmosphere, it is highly likely to become spoiled by mold or rot. This can cause you to become ill.

It can be challenging to discover a means to manage humidity and locate the optimal degree of moisture for cannabis flowers. Still, you’d better follow these instructions if you want your weed to stay good for longer. 

Maintain between 59 and 63 percent humidity levels for the cannabis flower you are growing. Storing weed in such settings can keep it fresh for a more extended period, which will help in retaining its scent, consistency, and flavor. 

Mold will typically start to grow at humidity levels higher than 65 percent, so it is vital to closely control the room. Keeping your weed in an environment with low humidity levels will quicken the drying process and damage your stash.

Light

When it comes to preserving weed, light is another critical consideration since exposure to light can cause the chemical components of weed (THC and CBD) to degrade. Light is the most crucial aspect regarding how long weed keeps its psychoactive properties. 

Cannabinoids have the potential to maintain their potency for up to two years when stored in the appropriate lighting conditions.

Temperature

Temperature is another crucial component in how you should keep your pot, and it is closely related to lighting. When you are not using your cannabis, you should control the temperature and keep it in a cool, dry place.

However, it would be best if you did not confuse “cool” with “cold” or “freezing.” Therefore, you should never keep your weed in a refrigerator or a freezer. Doing so subjects your cannabis stash to sudden shifts in temperature when you open and close the fridge door, which eventually destroys the trichomes.

Tips to Keep Weed Fresh for Longer

If you want to maintain the potency and freshness of various cannabis products, you’ll need to pay attention to their particular weed storage requirements. To help keep your cannabis products fresher for longer.

Marijuana Flower Preservation

You need to preserve the flower correctly if you want it to retain its freshness. This involves minimizing the amount of time it’s put under direct sunlight or exposed to fresh air. This ensures that the relative humidity is kept at an appropriate level, typically between 54 and 63 percent.

It would be best to use a little Mason jar or a weed-specific container to store your buds properly. Then, keep a secure cover on the container lid, avoid opening it too frequently, and store it in a cool and dark place.

You can also use specialized cannabis humidors or other products. Another option is to control humidity by storing your weed in a humidor explicitly designed for marijuana.

Edible Preservation 

Keep perishable foods like cakes and cookies sealed in their original packaging and store them somewhere far from open air and direct sunlight to maintain their quality. Also, please keep them in a cool and dark place since many different kinds of edibles (particularly ones like hard candies and gummies) tend to melt quickly.

Concentrate Products Preservation

Keeping your concentrates in compact containers made especially for dabbing is the most effective approach to maintaining their potency and freshness over time. These compact containers are often made of glass or silicone. 

Vape Cartridges 

Like any other cannabis product, your vape pen should be appropriately stored in a dark, cool place away from too much light. Because the fresh weed oil is already contained within an airtight cartridge, you do not need to be concerned about these products being exposed to air or humidity.

One last piece of advice is always to store your vaporizers upright. Doing so will ensure that the oil remains at the base of the cartridge, where you can quickly access it.

Storing Weed: Best Methods

To keep weed potent and fresh, you can use several methods:

Glass Mason jars: If fresh cannabis has been dried well before storage, containers with tight-fitting lids are a fantastic method to keep it. You should keep as little air in the container as possible. Then, it would be best if you placed a humidity pack to prevent mold from growing inside the jar.

Black glass jars: Black glass jars are an excellent option to store weed safely. These sorts of jars can be found online or at head stores. They’ve been made with black glass to block harmful UV rays and to remain discreet. Some jars come with a humidity pack, but you should add one to help prevent mold if yours doesn’t. 

Vacuum-sealing: Vacuum sealing is another way to maintain pot freshness. As long as the material used does not contain any harmful chemicals, vacuum sealing works fine. Do not use plastic if you do not want to damage your trichomes. If vacuum sealing is done correctly, airborne damage to nugs is prevented, oxygen is removed from the equation, and humidity can also be controlled.

How to Know If You Can Still Use It

Are you wondering how long weed stays good and how to know whether you can use it or not? Pay attention to the following factors, and you’ll find the answer to your questions.

• Mold: Mold may grow in weeds when moisture or humidity is present, and you should never smoke moldy weeds.
• Texture: Spongy Plants that make no sound when pulled apart are wet and moldy. You know your pot is past its expiration date if it’s too dry and crumbles when you touch it.
• Smell: Is the odor of your old weed bothering you? If that’s the case, it’s best to throw it away.

Keeping Weed Fresh: Bottom Line

The delicate trichomes on your weed buds degrade with time, just like everything else. However, when exposed to heat, light, and moisture over an extended period, the atomic structure of the substance undergoes quicker changes.

These changes reduce the THC potency of the flower and can also influence the flavor and aroma of the buds. Therefore, keep an eye on the harvest date printed on the package of your cannabis, and take extra precautions to prevent exposing it to the factors described in the previous paragraph if you want it to remain in the best possible condition for as long as possible.

At 710 Kingston, we provide high-quality legal cannabis goods, including edibles, vapes, cannabis flowers, concentrates, and more. Our professional services and tests mean you can be confident that you are buying good weed. 

Customers come first at 710 Kingston. Bongs, pipes, and other cannabis accessories of the highest quality are also available. Check out our Premium Selection of Cannabis Flower, and Order cannabis online today.