Cannabis Storage Tips: Should You Freeze Your Weed?
Why You Should Avoid Storing Weed in the Freezer
You have a bit of extra weed, and you don’t want a single nug to go to waste. The only issue is, you’re not sure how or where to store it. What will keep it fresher longer? What won’t compromise the high?
Weed doesn’t typically have an expiration date in the same way that food does, but it can certainly get funky after some time.
According to a study from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, weed usually loses 16% of its THC after one year, and continues to become weaker as the years go by.
One method of extending its life, claimed by some stoners to be effective, is to freeze your extra weed. Supporters of this method believe that weed works similarly to bread or meat in the sense that freezing the plant will simply extend its life before it dies.
But trust us: weed is not a pack of ground beef. Science shows that freezing cannabis is not only an unnecessary practice, but can actually damage it!
Don’t Make This Bud Blunder
Cannabis goes through a process called decarboxylation. Often called “decarbing”, this naturally-occurring process is done to convert THC-A into THC – in other words, it transforms into the chemical compound that leads to your high. Decarbing is also crucial to creating edibles.
Keeping cannabis at low temperatures, like in the freezer, can interrupt the decarbing process, and damage the plant’s potency.
The second problem created by freezing weed is the damage it does to trichomes. You might be wondering, what are trichomes? They’re the white, fuzzy glands that cover the bud. Trichomes are special – they give each bud unique properties, like taste, smell, and even the high you’ll get.
When weed is stored in the freezer, its trichomes begin to crystallize – think of it like the food in your fridge that gets freezer burn. When this happens to weed, the trichomes begin to break off. This can ruin the smell and taste and completely weaken your experience with it.
Better Ways To Store Weed
If freezing leads to failure, then what is the best way to store marijuana? You’ll need to consider this if you want to keep weed for an extended period of time.
First, you’ll want to store it in a cool, dark place. While most plants thrive in sunlight, marijuana in its smokable form is different. By keeping weed dry, you’ll avoid overexposure to UV rays, which a study from the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology claims is the “greatest single factor” in the breakdown of cannabinoids.
It’s also important to keep your bud in a sealed container, to ensure the correct amount of oxygen for the decarbing process to work. But what’s the best type of container to store it in?
It’s actually glass. You know that one weird glass Tupperware container that everyone seems to have in their cupboard? You’ll want that. Glass has a neutral chemical charge, which reduces the damage that can be done to your weed.
Nobody wants their good weed to go bad – and with these tips, it doesn’t have to. And if all else fails, why not share your leftover weed? After all, the best highs are the ones shared with your pals.
