“Just add a piece of bread to your cannabis baggy.” If you've been told this is the best way to preserve cannabis, you're in for a big shock. Mold develops on stale bread, and eating it may spread a serious infection through your digestive system. Do you want to smoke cannabis that's been in contact with mould spores?
But we understand it. You want to make sure that your stockpile stays as crisp and clean as a daisy for as long as you possibly can. A hash that's been sitting around for a while loses both its strength and its flavour. Who would want a high with less punch, anyway?
You have no choice but to educate yourself on the most effective methods available for preserving the potency of your supply. When everything is said and done, fresh cannabis means strong weed equals a more satisfying high.
What Degrades Cannabis?
Time
When cannabis is harvested, the plant no longer receives nutrients via its roots, which causes the cannabis to begin to deteriorate.
Even if you have the most ideal conditions for storing your marijuana, it will still degrade with time. The only method to slow down the process of deterioration is to exercise control over the environmental conditions (humidity, light, air, and temperature).
Temperature
Your flower buds will lose their moisture and the delicate terpenes they contain will evaporate if the temperature is too high. Mold will start to develop on your pot as soon as the humidity level is high enough.
You should avoid putting your cannabis in the freezer since the low temperatures will cause it to lose some of its quality. When cannabis that has been frozen is allowed to thaw, the water molecules in the cannabis evaporate, taking the valuable terpenes and cannabinoids with them.
Air Exposure
Air exposure (aka oxygen) may potentially damage your cannabis. Cannabinol, which is not psychoactive, is produced when the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is broken down (CBN). CBN is useful for treating insomnia and pain, but if you're looking to get high, it won't do the trick.
Light
According to research that was conducted in 1976, light is one of the most important factors in the deterioration of cannabis. Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, also known as THCA, can be converted into THC by exposing the buds to light for a prolonged length of time. After some time, the THC transforms into the non-psychoactive compound CBN.
Oxygen also oxidizes essential terpenes, so your cannabis loses much of its flavour and aroma. Eventually, your cannabis will smell like grassy hay.
Moisture
Your cannabis's ability to maintain its potency and freshness is significantly impacted by the amount of moisture it contains. Your cannabis will become brittle and unusable if there is not enough moisture in the air to keep it wet. I wish you the best of luck in attempting to smoke that.
If your cannabis is exposed to an excessive amount of moisture or humidity, it will become difficult to smoke. Mould and mildew may spread more quickly, and the inhalation or consumption of mouldy cannabis can have severe negative effects on one's health.
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How to Keep Cannabis Fresh
You want to keep your cannabis fresh for as long as possible, which means storing it correctly. Proper storage extends the holy herb’s life by a year or two.
Choose the Right Container Keep your premium flower in sealed glass containers in a dark cupboard.
Choosing the appropriate container in which to keep your buds is vital if you want to be able to effectively regulate the environmental elements that impact the process of deterioration. A container made of glass is preferable because, unlike plastic, it does not include any potentially hazardous compounds in its composition.
The ideal method to keep your cannabis is in an airtight glass container such as a glass mason jar. [Cannabis] After you have placed your buds inside the container, you should shield them from light and heat.
A glass container that is airtight and has UV light blocked out is still another choice. It is no longer necessary for you to be concerned about light "killing" your cannabis. You merely need to make sure that the temperature is appropriate; thus, you shouldn't put the jar somewhere that is very warm, such as near the stove.
You should also consider investing in a cannabis humidor. These containers are made specifically for storing cannabis. They are airtight to prevent the entry of oxygen, and opaque to prevent the entry of light. Additionally, the humidity levels in the cannabis humidor are kept at the ideal range of 55 to 65 percent.
You have the option of using a stash jar, such as a CVault. These are designed to safeguard and maintain the viability of your cannabis buds. The most efficient stash jars are as follows:
Are just the proper proportions
Maintain a good seal to avoid letting air in.
Include a barrier on the outside to prevent ultraviolet radiation from penetrating the inside.
Have odour protection.
Work with humidification pods
Keep Humidity in Check
If you smoke all of the buds that you purchased within two weeks of purchasing them and then keep them in an airtight glass jar in a dark and cold location, you won't have to worry about humidity.
Put a humidity pod or pack like Boveda inside the container of your cannabis so that it stays more flavorful for a longer period of time. These humidity packs are available in two different levels of relative humidity (RH), 58 percent and 62 percent respectively. The bud will be more sticky when the relative humidity is greater.
A helpful hint is to fill the container with your buds just up to the halfway mark, and then add the humidity pack. Add some more cannabis to the container and make sure there is enough space for it to breathe before you put the lid on it.
Maintain Moderate Temperatures
Keep your stash at a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit or below to preserve the cannabinoids and terpenes that are present in the cannabis.
Stay clear of the refrigerator, the freezer, and any locations that are close to the oven or the stove.
Avoid Sunlight and Find a Cool, Dark Spot
By avoiding heat and sunshine, you can ensure that your cannabis maintains its flavour period, fragrance, and colour. Store the container containing the cannabis in the cupboard, closet, or pantry of the kitchen.
Don’t Add Organic Matter
Don’t listen if your stoner friends suggest adding organic matter like veggies and fruits to the cannabis jar. An orange with your buds in the container simply creates a happy haven for mould and mildew to grow. The same goes for bread
Only add your buds and the humidity pack to the stash jar.
Related: Brand New UK Cannabis Forum
How to Keep Cannabis Fresh is a Science
If you take the proper precautions, you should be able to keep your cannabis for at least two years provided that it is shielded from environmental elements such as light, oxygen, excessive humidity, and moisture.
To experience a robust high even after some time has gone, it is important to choose the appropriate container for storage, including a humidity pack, and store the product in an area that is cold and dark.
Rehydrating Weed: How To Bring Your Stale Cannabis Back To Life
"Rehydrating your cannabis is probably not something you want to be doing often. Prevention is always key" - Dr Tom Darke
Cannabis often loses its moisture for one of two primary reasons: either it has been over-dried after the harvest or it has not been kept adequately. As you trim your cannabis in preparation for drying it, the stems will quickly lose their brittleness and become more flexible. If you can break a stem in two with your own hands, then the product has reached the appropriate level of dryness; nevertheless, if the stem remains flexible, then further drying time is required.
On the other hand, if you live in a dry area, you could need the use of a humidifier.
There are numerous typical errors that novices often make when it comes to storing their cannabis, which often results in the cannabis ending up dried out or getting brittle. These include putting it in the refrigerator or freezer, exposing it to an excessive amount of moisture, and heating it.
But if you discover that you have weed that has dried out, there is no need for alarm. Before you decide to dispose of that dry dash, please allow us to be of assistance. Before we get started, I want to remind you that you should never smoke crumbly, dry weed since it is very irritating to the throat and it also causes damage to the lungs. Not to mention how bad they taste.
To answer your question, why would you want to rehydrate your cannabis? To purchase cannabis may be rather expensive in most parts of the world. If you get rid of your hoard simply because it is no longer usable, you are throwing money away. However, no one likes to consume cannabis that has been allowed to dry out, but the good news is that rehydrating your stash is not only quick and easy but also does not need a lot of labour, so you can do it yourself.
Rehydrating Your Dry Stash
If you want to successfully rehydrate your cannabis after it has been dried out, you will need to expose it to some quantity of moisture. The reason you smoke cannabis in the first place is that it loses its flavour and scent as it dries out, and it is quite unlikely that dried-out weed would have either.
The moisture content of the bud should be between 6 and 9 percent, and anything more than 65 percent might encourage the formation of mold. It should have a moisture content of less than 15% while it is being dried, and then the curing process entails drying it to an even lower percentage, perhaps about 9%. The process of rehydrating cannabis often entails placing the marijuana in conjunction with another wet item that is then placed inside of a container that is then shut. This creates a microclimate for cannabis. Because of this, water from the wet item will be able to move to the dry object, creating an equitable distribution of moisture throughout the system.
However, bear in mind that to get the most desirable outcomes, you must consistently make use of distilled water. This is because the water used in distillation has previously been subjected to the process of evaporation, followed by condensation, and then it has filtered. When you use this water to rehydrate your cannabis, you want to make sure that it is absolutely devoid of any chemicals or contaminants that might affect the plant. These assure that this is the case. You may do this using one of the following methods:
Damp Paper Towel
Get a fresh piece of paper towel and moisten it with some distilled water to a mild degree. Take care not to let it get soaked. Put it in the same bag as the cannabis, but use thicker plastic or a zip-lock bag, make sure the bag is well sealed, and let it rest for at least an hour and a half. Check the towel to see if it has absorbed less water than the cannabis, and check the cannabis to see if it has already been able to absorb moisture.
Fruit Peel
One of the least complicated and most often used techniques for rehydrating cannabis is to use fruit peels. It is as easy as storing the hoard inside of an airtight jar with fruit peel, lime, and lemon being the most usual options but you may also use apples, grapes, cheerful, grapefruit, bananas, and pears. The most common choices are lime and lemon.
Using fruit peels to rehydrate your cannabis will not only be a successful method, but it will also have the additional bonus of infusing your stash with the scrumptious flavours of various fruits. This is because the procedure includes the transfer of some of the essential oils and terpenes found in the fruit. Put the cannabis in the jar with the fruit peel, and after 24 hours, crack the lid once or twice to let air in. After that, you should be able to use your stash without any problems.
If you appreciate the advantage of extra flavours and fragrnces, fragrances explore by adding herbs such as cilantro, mint, thyme, or other herbs that are rich in scent. You could even try adding different types of aromatic herbs.
Depending on the quantity of your stockpile, you may need to go through this procedure many times to complete it. It is important to keep in mind that this procedure should not be hurried; instead, you should just repeat it until the cannabis has attained the desired degree of wetness. Related: UK Cannabis Events 2022 / 2023
Lettuce
Since lettuce is primarily made up of water, it’s a terrific choice for rehydrating cannabis. The process of using lettuce is similar to fruit peel; just leave a lettuce cut in an airtight container or Ziplock bag for around 12 hours to 14 hours.
Humidity Packs
Your last resort can always be a disposable humidity pack. There are many inexpensive ones sold online, but some are also made specifically for preserving the ideal humidity in cannabis. Bread - The method you should avoid.
Although many people believe that rehydrating cannabis with a new piece of bread is the most reliable and tried-and-true approach, doing so is fraught with danger. Simply add some liquid to the slice, then put it in the same container as your cooking saucepan. You don't want to be smoking bread crumbs after the cannabis has been rehydrated, therefore take precautions to prevent the bread from coming into touch with the plant. The procedure for using bread is the same as that for using fruit peels; however, for the greatest results, you may need to repeat it about five times. We have already said that doing this may be risky since there is a chance that the bread can get moldy and contaminate your smoke. Because of reason, we strongly advise that you steer clear of using this technique.
Final Say
It's not something you want to be doing too often, but you can always rehydrate your cannabis. Because of this, prevention is always the most important step to take, and one of the ways you can avoid it is by ensuring that you store it correctly in the first place.
Investing in a humidor or humidifier is something you should think about doing if you want to make sure that you are constantly smoking the most recently harvested cannabis available. There are a variety of weed humidifiers on the market that are priced to accommodate a variety of budgets.
When it comes to putting away your pot, you should always keep two things in mind: making sure it is airtight and keeping it out of sight.