Storing cannabis properly
Four things degrade cannabis, and all four are easy to keep out. What to keep it in, where to put it, and what the fridge does to it.
Cannabis you paid for and then let go stale is the most avoidable disappointment there is. Nothing about storing it well is difficult — it is the same short list of enemies that spoils coffee, tea and spices, and the same short list of answers.
The four things that ruin it
- Light, and ultraviolet in particular, breaks cannabinoids down. It is the fastest of the four.
- Air oxidises. THC slowly becomes CBN, which is why very old cannabis tends toward the sedating rather than the bright.
- Heat drives terpenes off, and terpenes are most of the aroma and much of the character.
- Humidity, wrong in either direction. Too dry and it crumbles and loses aroma; too damp and you risk mould.
What to keep it in
Glass with a proper seal, kept somewhere dark. A jar with a gasket is ideal; a well-sealing jar in a cupboard is fine.
Avoid plastic bags — they hold static that strips trichomes off, and most of them breathe. Avoid clear containers on a windowsill for the obvious reason.
Do not overfill or underfill. A jar with a lot of air in it oxidises what is inside it faster than a full one.
The humidity question
The comfortable range for cured flower is around 55 to 62 percent relative humidity. Below that it dries out and the smoke turns harsh; above it, mould becomes a real risk.
Two-way humidity packs sized for the jar hold that range without any attention, and are worth the small cost if you keep more than a little at a time. If you are only ever holding a week's worth, a sealed jar in a dark cupboard is genuinely enough.
Cool, but not cold
Room temperature, out of the sun, is right. A cupboard away from the stove and the geyser beats a shelf above either.
The fridge is a common mistake. It cycles humidity every time it runs and every time you open it, and taking a cold jar into a warm room condenses moisture inside it — which is how mould starts. Freezing is worse for flower: trichomes become brittle at freezer temperatures and snap off the moment the bud is handled, which is exactly the material you were trying to keep.
Keep it separate, and keep it shut away
Cannabis takes on smells from whatever it is stored near, and gives its own away just as readily. Its own jar, please.
And the obvious one, which is worth saying plainly: cannabis is for adults. Store it where children and pets cannot reach it, and never in something that looks like ordinary food — edibles especially. A lockable box is not paranoid; it is the same care you would take with anything else in the house that is fine for adults and not for anyone else.
How long does it keep?
Well stored, flower holds its character for six months to a year, and is not dangerous after that — just progressively less interesting. Aroma fades first, then flavour, then the brightness of the effect.
If it smells of hay, has gone grey-brown throughout, or crumbles to dust in your fingers, it has been kept badly or kept too long. If it smells of ammonia or shows any white fuzz that is not trichomes, do not smoke it — that is mould, and no amount of drying fixes it.
