Does weed go bad? Weed is often stored in a cool, dark environment to stay fresh and potent for longer, but like an plant, over time it will lose it's potency. With proper storage conditions you can elongate the shelf life or at the very least maintain moisture content and terpene content to preserve taste and flavor. Overall, cannabinoid degradation is, however, inevitable.
This article will cover a few topics including how to store cannabis to keep it fresh as well as what can happen if cannabis grows mold and how to avoid that. There are of course health risks to smoking moldy cannabis and it's important to avoid this when storing for short or long term. Proper curing is important before you store cannabis so there are also signs to be aware of with regard to appearance and texture. Follow this guide to see how long weed stays fresh once you store it and what happens when it goes bad.
How Long Does Weed Stay Fresh?
How long does weed last in storage
The length of time weed remains fresh and potent in storage depends on several factors, including how it's stored, humidity levels, light exposure, and air quality. Properly stored cannabis, kept in a cool, dark place in an airtight container, can last for about six months to a year while retaining much of its potency and flavor. Over time, THC, the active compound, will degrade into CBN, which has more sedative effects and less psychoactivity. Weed exposed to air, light, or heat will lose potency much more quickly, possibly within a few weeks to a few months. Using moisture control packs can help preserve freshness by maintaining ideal humidity levels.
Weed Freshness
Cannabis growers or avid smokers that purchase weed in larger quantities should know how to store it correctly to preserve it for later use. But how long does weed stay fresh once it is cured? The freshness of cannabis solely depends on how well it is stored. For example, if you do it in an old-fashioned way and keep it rolled up in a plastic bag, your weed will likely dry out in a week or so.Cannabis freshness is essential for maintaining its potency, flavor, and overall quality. Fresh cannabis should have a fragrant aroma, vibrant color, and slightly sticky texture due to the presence of trichomes. Over time, if not stored properly, cannabis can lose its freshness, resulting in dry, brittle buds with diminished potency and flavor. Key factors affecting freshness include exposure to light, air, and humidity. To keep cannabis fresh for longer periods, it's best to store it in an airtight container, in a cool, dark place, and away from excessive moisture or dryness, which can lead to mold growth or degradation.
Cannabis storage (how to store weed for maximmum freshness)
Proper cannabis storage is crucial for preserving the plant’s potency, flavor, and freshness over time. The key elements to consider when storing cannabis are light, temperature, air, and humidity. Cannabis should be kept in airtight, opaque containers to protect it from exposure to air and light, both of which can degrade the cannabinoids and terpenes responsible for its effects and aroma. Ideal storage conditions include a cool, dark place, as heat can cause the buds to dry out and lose potency. Additionally, maintaining proper humidity levels, usually between 58-65% RH helps prevent mold growth while keeping the cannabis from becoming too dry and brittle. Using humidity packs in the storage container can further help preserve quality over time.
If you keep it under the right storage conditions and invest in high-quality airtight storage containers, you will be able to preserve your stash for a long time. When it is properly harvested, then dried in the ideal conditions, cured and stored in a clean space, cannabis can stay fresh for six months to about a year. In addition, if you’ve taken all the right measures to store your buds properly, and you’re a bit lucky, you might even be able to extend that timeline by up to two years if the conditions are perfect.
Essential Storage Tips on How to Keep Weed Fresh for Longer
Ideal Storage Conditions for Cannabis
Proper cannabis storage is essential for having a flavorful and potent weed. This means that it shouldn’t be exposed to the elements such as extreme temperatures, high or low humidity, air or light. High moisture is usually the biggest threat to cannabis storage as it can have serious health consequences by triggering mold growth.
Below are some useful links that further elaborate on cannabis storage:
Why Avoid Plastic Bags and Refrigeration
If you keep cannabis in the proper condition, it can remain relatively stable for up to two years. High-quality storage containers also play a big role in keeping your cannabis fresh, so make sure you avoid using plastic bags and storing your weed in the fridge. By keeping it in airtight glass jars and using humidity packs, you can consume potent and flavorful buds even after a long time. Keeping it in a cool and dark place in adequate containers will also drastically lower the risk of degradation of your terpenes and cannabinoids, which play a vital role in the flavor and aroma of a cannabis strain.
How to Tell If Weed Has Gone Bad: Signs of Spoilage and Mold
If your stash sits unused for too long or you leave it exposed to too much air and direct light, it will quickly dry out and turn into a crumbly, ineffective herb. On the other hand, if your buds are exposed to too much humidity they will go moldy. There are some easy signs to tell how your weed has gone moldy.
Signs of Mold and Degradation
- Weed will look grey to brown in color
- A thin veil of webbing will surround the bud
- White powdery spots are also common
- Weed will smell dank, like a basement or old rotting vegetables
Can you smoke moldy weed?
Smoking moldy weed can make you feel sick and it may affect people with underlying health conditions. One of the first things you'll notice if you smoke moldy weed is a slight headache and a harshness on the back of your throat, almost like you have a slight cold but no real symptoms yet.
Carefully check your weed for mold as it can be hard to notice before it spreads. Periodically check it and don't just leave it for long periods of time if you're adding a humidity element to it. Definitely, under no circumstances should use fruit or vegetables as a means to humidify your weed because that will mold and then those mold spores will carry over to the weed and cause the weed to mold. Once mold takes root, there's no going back, you must dispose of it. If one half of the bud is clear and the other half isn't, it's not worth risking since the mold spores are microscopic.
Best Storage Practices to Prevent Weed from Going Bad
- Make sure to store weed in a relatively cool (room temp is ok if you don't have the capability) and dark environment. This means not a clear mason jar in broad daylight. That's because sunlight (UV rays) degrade cannabinoids, which thereby affects potency.
- Make sure to store weed in an airtight (or as close to airtight) condition as possible. That's because oxygen naturally breaks down cannabinoids overtime. Products like the Cannador have a double lip seal which maintains as close to airtightness as a humidor can get; you'll notice a whoosh of air comes out when you close the Cannador because of how tightly it's fit.
- Make sure your cannabis is in glass jars and not plastic. Why not store weed in a plastic bag? Because plastic has static that pulls away the trichomes which contain the cannabinoids that ultimately give you the high. Plus plastic isn't environmentally friendly or sustainable. Every Cannador utilizes glass jars and at the very least if you do store your weed in a clear glass jar, put it in a dark cupboard that's away from light.
- The ideal temperature for storing weed is 60F to 72F. Again, if your room temperature runs a little higher, it's not the end of the world. So long as it's not in a perpetually warm environment for a prolonged period of time, it will be just fine.
Can You Use Expired Weed? Understanding the Risks and Potency Loss
Cannabis over time loses its main psychoactive component (THC), and therefore its potency. However, you can still smoke it even if it doesn’t have the piney weed taste. Stale weed may not affect your health but it will taste different and won’t be as enjoyable to smoke. One way to discover whether your stash has gone stale is by sniffing it. Once it starts to smell dry and dusty and loses the distinctive sharp scent that fresh weed usually has it means that it has become stale.
Besides losing potency over time, your stash will also lose its texture, aroma, and flavor. In extreme cases, you may end up with nothing more than a pile of tasteless, crumbly dust that you cannot use. To prevent this from happening, try to preserve your precious cannabis for as long as possible by providing proper storage techniques such as keeping it in appropriate containers and under ideal conditions. But discovering bad weed doesn’t have to be disappointing, as you can still salvage it by using other methods of consumption rather than smoking it.
Can you salvage stale weed?
It depends. If the weed has mold, the answer is no, but if it's just dry, yes. You can reinvigorate cannabis by adding moisture to it and there are several ways. By adding moisture, the terpenes will come alive by way of scent and taste, which will modulate the effect of the cannabinoids. If you don't want to do that, there are other ways you can salvage stale weed:
- Make edibles by way of decarboxylation
- Make concentrates like ice hash or rosin
There are now many consumption methods such as distillates, waxes, oils and hash that you can easily use your stale weed to make, but the easiest of all is edibles. Things get way more complex with distillates and waxes that require machinery.
The Weed Going Bad Bottom Line
There are quite a lot of factors that determine how long can you store weed before it goes bad, but in reality, it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Simply provide a cool and dark place for your weed containers as well as ideal conditions like humidity control, oxygen exposure, light exposure, and ideal temperatures, so it doesn’t produce mold.
Ultimately, does weed go bad? Yes, it does, but there are plenty of methods mentioned above to mitigate this, including the use of a storage product like the Cannador.
Knowing how to determine whether your weed has gone bad will help you avoid any unnecessary health issues. If you see any white fuzzy mold, discolored spots, or if it smells different from the usual cannabis smell, don’t mess with it. Follow this guide and use proper storage containers so you can enjoy a flavorful and potent weed for a long time.
Looking to keep your cannabis fresh for longer? Check out our premium Cannador storage solutions here.
