The good news is, weed stays fresh for a lot longer than it will likely stay in your possession. Marijuana will be good for about a year if it is stored in a cool, dry place, out of sunlight and not exposed to air.
To keep your weed smokeable and fresh for a year, surprisingly, will require equipment that most of us do not have lying around at home such as humidity controllers.
Realistically, you can keep your weed good for up to 6 months without high tech storage and humidity facilities.
Now, that is not to say that weed can’t be smoked if it is 4 years old… so we are left asking the question, what is considered ‘good’ weed?
What Is ‘Good’ Weed?
First of all, you can tell a ‘good’ bud from a ‘bad’ bud almost instantly. How does your weed look when you buy it from the dispensary? Here are a few things to check when you buy weed, or if you find weed lying around at home to assess its quality.
- Softly press and squash the bud with your two fingers, if it feels spongy or it doesn’t make a snapping sound when you break a bit off it then it is far too damp.
- Does it crumble between your fingers? If it is really rigid and lacking in color and flexibility, it is too old.
- Bright, vibrant colors are a telltale sign of high-quality weed. Look out for buds that are a vibrant green with orange hairs through the flower, some might even have a deep purple or blue color running through them. If the color is dull and lifeless, the weed won’t be worth smoking.
- The best weed is slightly sticky when you touch it.
- Keep your eyes on the little white hairs that sprout all over the bud. These are jam-packed with THC and are a big give away that the weed is fresh and fabulous.
- Give the bud a good, long sniff. If the bud smells strong and pungent with a fresh and grassy after smell then it is considered good. If the weed smells dull and a little stuffy, it could be old, or worse, contain mold.
How to Keep Your Weed Fresh
The best way to keep your weed fresh is to store it in a glass mason jar. You can purchase special weed containers, but an airtight mason jar will do the trick.
I know, it is so tempting to have your full and thriving jar of weed out on display for your envious friends to see, it’s just something that puts a little smile on everyone’s face.
However, exposing your weed to sunlight and temperature changes will reduce its quality and soon, your energised buds will become limp and lifeless. To avoid this happening put the jar in a drawer, out of any sunlight.
Marijuana is very sensitive to humidity changes. That is the only rather fussy thing about storing weed. Weed likes to be in a place that is between 52 and 62% RH (relative humidity).
If you notice your stash drying out, pop a humidity pack in the jar to spruce it up. Please note, humidity packs are just a short term answer to bringing life back to your dry weed, they shouldn’t be placed in your weed container all the time.
Following these rules will keep your weed crisp and scrumptious for about 6 months, so as you can see, it’s easily done. If you want your weed to stay longer than that, invest in a special weed storage container that regulates the humidity and temperature without you having to interfere.
Storing Other Weed Products
Space cakes, weed vapes or hemp oil should be stored properly and treated with care. After all, weed is a natural product and items containing it won’t last as long as artificial oils and vapes.
Space cakes and weed candies should be stored out of the sunlight and in a cool place. Candies should be kept in plastic wrappers and tucked away in the fridge. Weed brownies may not like being refrigerated too much, but they still need to be wrapped up tightly and put in a cool place out of sunlight.
Vapes and oils should be kept in a dark drawer, and that’s right you guessed it, out of sunlight and kept cool. They usually have a use by date on the packet. Don’t use the oils or vapes after the recommended date as they may have lost all of their effects and be a bit pointless, especially if you are a few months after the recommended use by date.
What Happens if You Smoke ‘Bad’ Weed?
Absolutely nothing. You will not get sick like if you were to eat ‘bad’ food, but you also won’t feel any different to if you were not to smoke it at all. Unfortunately, weed loses a lot of THC in a short space of time.
Weed that is a year old will have lost up to 20% of it’s THC levels. That is loads. As you can imagine, over time that just gets worse and worse. Going back to that 4 year old weed we spoke about earlier, even if it was stored in the best, most high tech facilities, it will have lost 50% of its THC potency.
Moldy weed on the other hand is a bit of a danger, if you have found a bud that has black specks and is a little bit damp, it is most likely moldy. Black mold is dangerous to have in your bedroom, let alone to smoke it, so watch out.
All in all, smoking weed that isn’t super duper fresh and juicy just won’t leave you with the physical and psychological effects that you are used to. It might taste a bit odd and smell funny but that is the extent of the discomfort you will feel.