A lot of us don’t give weed storage the careful consideration it deserves. We walk away from the dispensary with our flower in an airtight glass jar where it remains until it’s gone or, if we grow our own, we harvest the fruits of our labor into similar airtight jars. But cannabis is sensitive and demands more if we want to keep that just-cured freshness. Fortunately, the most effective solution is also pretty simple.
The 4 Factors of Efficient Weed Storage
When developing your weed storage strategy, you’ll want to keep 4 major points in consideration.
- Oxygen
- Light
- Temperature
- Humidity
Oxygen: The Most Infamous Offense to Weed Storage
Oxygen is one of the most corrosive elements for cured cannabis flower but can be kept at bay easily with the use of airtight glass jars(https://420.market/products/glass-jar-w-airtight-wooden-lid-2oz-4-pack). While using airtight jars won’t completely preserve your cannabis flower (what is alive must always die unless you’ve discovered some kind of vampiric strain), the dramatic reduction of airflow to the herb will provide you with many more days of enjoyable potency.
The Ultraviolence of Ultraviolet Light
While almost everyone recognizes oxygen as the nemesis of cured cannabis, ultraviolet light does its fair share of damage to cannabinoids without quite the same level of infamy. Actually, ultraviolet light ravages cannabinoids more viciously than the other elements but is also easily controlled by keeping your airtight jars in a place where the light won’t reach them, like a cupboard. You could also invest a little more money in opaque glass jars or other airtight materials that are still conducive to weed storage, like stainless steel. Opaque plastic pop top bottles used to be a popular choice for storing cannabis, but oxygen permeates plastic more easily than glass or stainless steel and there are also concerns about toxins in the plastic itself.
High Temperatures: The Fast Track to Mold and Mildew
Studies show that mold and mildew thrive when your cannabis (and similar organic material) is exposed to temperatures ranging from 77°F to 86°F. You’re probably not keeping your weed in rainforest conditions or anything like that, but you may be keeping it close to electrical appliances, heaters or anything that could be consistently putting your herb in that harmful range. If you’re thinking of using a fridge for weed storage, lower temperatures will stunt its decarboxylation, zapping it of its potency. Think the fridge is safe? Think again. The rapid shifts in temperature and the accumulated humidity are great for fostering mold. It’s best to find a cool, dark area for your airtight jars.
When It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humidity
The final enemy of long-lasting weed storage is humidity; a subtle element that can foster mold, mildew and other nasties that drain potency and can even make you sick. It’s well documented that the premium relative humidity range for storing cannabis is between 59% to 63%(https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/how-long-is-my-cannabis-good-for-leaflys-guide-to-storing-cannabi?fbclid=IwAR1Hfjf5-1u2fSGTD3KNRMHso_YGC2vOR6Rm61R68eWt8wLKLdJNCl0CvGw). A higher relative humidity risks mold whereas a lower one can basically mummify your cannabis, resulting in fragile, dried out trichomes. If you want your herb to maintain its sticky texture, unmistakable fragrance and terp-tastic flavor, managing relative humidity is essential. Fortunately, we live in a golden age of cannabis and the market is sensitive to these needs. You don’t need to just drop your bud into an airtight glass jar and hope for the best. Here are a couple of products that can help you keep the freshness going as long as possible.
Name a More Iconic Duo
We love airtight glass jars the way anyone loves their first kiss. Many of us cut our teeth on airtight jars when we were young puffers. Even then, they weren’t absolutely perfect but they did the job we needed them to do. Even today, we wouldn’t pass on airtight glass in a pinch, but premium weed storage demands a bit more. If you really want to savor a particularly tasty strain, a glass jar alone just isn’t enough to maintain that peak freshness. That’s why we recommend one of the most iconic duos in 420 lore: a stainless steel CVault storage container(https://www.rosintechproducts.com/products/cvault-curing-storage-containers?_pos=1&_sid=c1aab171a&_ss=rr) supported by Boveda humidity packs(https://www.rosintechproducts.com/products/boveda-humidipaks-choose-humidity-and-size?_pos=2&_sid=661e00ea9&_ss=r). Some of you know what we’re talking about, others may be about to click that Google Translate. Either way, we’re not just telling you what works but why it works.
The CVault Storage Container
CVault wisely market their storage containers for food, but everyone uses these conveniently crafted canisters for weed storage. It’s almost as if they were specifically designed with cannabis in mind. They effectively block ultraviolet light by using a hygienic stainless-steel construction as opposed to glass while the clasping design still provides an airtight seal to minimize oxygen contamination and make your CVault odor proof. It’s also very easy to clean stainless-steel, so keeping your storage container as good as new is almost intuitive.
The Humidity Pack
At the lower portion of your CVault storage container, you’ll find a slot for storing humidipaks with some much-needed space between the pack and your weed. In most cases, your CVault will come equipped with a humidipak in a size befitting the container, but you can buy replacement humidipaks from a variety of brands (Boveda is our preference). Humidity packs last about 60 – 90 days, so it’s always a good idea to have a fresh one ready to go. CVault’s included humidipaks offer 62% relative humidity while Boveda humidity packs give you a choice between 58% and 62% humidity.
So, what does a humidipak actually do? You may be familiar with desiccant silica gel packets used in everything from vitamin supplement bottles to shoe boxes. Boveda humidity packs (and humidipaks in general) work in a similar way. However desiccant packs only offer 1-way humidity control whereas the humidity packs used in cannabis storage should offer 2-way humidity control. This basically means that not only is a humidipak taking excess moisture from the air but also pumping it back into the air when it needs it. Therefore, your cannabis doesn’t dry out or get so humid that it starts developing mold. Youy can expect your Boveda humidity pack to maintain either a 58% or 62% relative humidity, based on which model you’ve selected. In our experience, 58% relative humidity works best for smaller, personal stashes whereas 62% works better for a larger storage scenario.
One final note on humidity packs: while they’re great for cannabis flower, they are not a good idea for rosin and other concentrates. Boveda humidity packs are specifically designed to regulate the optimum humidity for flower which is a completely different consistency than concentrates.
Airtight jars are great, but now that you’ve read this blog, you’ve graduated to the next level. You know that airtight glass won’t do long term. Do yourself the favor of investing in a CVault storage container and a few Boveda humidity packs for support. Or you can keep sucking down mold and mildew if that’s your thing!
