Best way to store weed

Reading time: 7 minutes

Do you need to store your marijuana so that it keeps stable for up to two years? 

Properly storing marijuana helps preserve cannabinoids such as THC. In other words, your weed stays potent longer.

How do you do it? This article explains how marijuana starts to degrade so that you can prevent it from happening.

What degrades weed?

Want to do some long-term marijuana storage? You’ll need to focus on curing it properly. Then, you need to keep it from degrading. You do this with proper storage.

There are some things that can cause your marijuana to degrade faster than usual, however.  Here are four things that you should do to keep your weed potent:

1. Keep your bud safe from the air

Oxygen levels are a huge factor when it comes to storing your cannabis long-term. Too little oxygen may alter the plant’s humidity level, leading to mildew or mold. On the other hand, too much oxygen causes it to degrade faster.

Keep your bud safe from the air and humidity
Keep your bud safe from the air

So, how do you keep air from degrading your weed?

One way is vacuum sealing. It’s actually the best way to shield your marijuana from long-term exposure to oxygen.

However, if you don’t have vacuum pack bags on hand, you could try jars. Airtight jars are an easy solution for storage. Just make sure the lids seal completely.

How to choose an airtight cannabis storage container

Start with the proper size. Although no air is seeping in, the jar itself can trap excess oxygen inside. This tends to degrade your cannabis.  

Choose a jar that’s large enough to hold your weed without crowding it, but so small that very little spare room is left inside. This stops the container from trapping humidity inside. 

2. Keep moisture away from your marijuana

Moldy weed is deadly. You do not want to smoke it. The best way to prevent moldy weed is to make sure your cannabis stays dry at all times.

closeup photo of a dewdrop on the tip of a cannabis leaf
Keep moisture away from your marijuana bud

However, you don’t want it to dry completely out. This causes your cannabinoids and terpenes to become degraded. These are the two most valuable compounds in your weed.

Download my free Grow Bible for more information about growing high-quality cannabis

To keep your marijuana’s quality high during long-term storage, keep an eye on those humidity levels. The ideal humidity level is between 59 and 63 RH.

Also read “How to cure marijuana buds

By the way, RH stands for Relative Humidity or the amount of moisture lurking around in the air in comparison to what it can hold.

Quick tip 

Humidity Control Packets help you maintain control without putting in a lot of extra work.

3. Minimize light exposure

Light exposure is the quickest way to degrade the cannabinoids in your weed. Just like with many other things, light can change things.

Minimize light exposure to marijuana bud
Minimize light exposure to marijuana bud

For example, the paint on your car may dull and chip or the color in your hair may lighten. The same can happen with marijuana.

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Here’s what happens:

UV rays burn up your plants’ terpenes and cannabinoids. Keep this from happening by not exposing your cannabis to too much light. How? Store it in opaque containers. Also, keep those containers away from any type of direct light. 

4. Maintain a mild temperature

Buds tend to dry out quickly when exposed to high temperatures. This evaporates the terpenes, giving you an unpleasant flavor and a harsh smoke. On top of that, mildew and mold thrive when temperatures are between 78 and 86 degrees. 

Maintain a mild temperature for storing cannabis bud
Maintain a mild temperature for storing cannabis bud

That’s why you should store your marijuana at temperatures below 78 degrees. 

Most people simply say store your marijuana in a “cool and dark” place. Most people assume that means the refrigerator.

However, storing your weed in the fridge increases moisture, which leads to mildew and mold. You could also try using a freezer for long-term storage, especially if you plan to use it later create bubble hash. However, such freezing temperatures can cause your plants to lose potency by bursting the gentle trichomes. 

With this in mind, the best place for long-term cannabis storage is in a dark corner, basement, drawer, or closet.

More tips for storing marijuana long-term

If you follow the tips above, you’ll have great results. But, if you’d like even more success, you could also do these things: 

  • Choose Your Storage Container Wisely –
    • Plastic containers can cause your weed to sweat. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, store it in mason jars or some other type of glass or ceramic container. Just make sure the lid seals the jar air-tight to keep the marijuana fresh longer.
  • Control the Moisture – Old timers suggest throwing orange, lemon or other fruit rings into your ceramic or glass marijuana jars to improve flavor and rehydrate buds. However, be careful with this as it can cause your buds to absorb too much moisture, which can lead to unsmokable, moldy weed.
  • Store Cannabis by Itself – When preparing your cannabis for long-term storage, make sure to store it alone. Do not store cannabis with pipes, lighters and other paraphernalia. These items reek. Your cannabis may absorb the aroma, negatively transforming the way your bud smells and tastes.
  • Avoid Using Tobacco Humidors – Most tobacco humidors are created using cedarwood. Your plants may absorb the wood’s oil, which can degrade the terpene and change the bud’s flavor.
Storing weed long-term
Storing weed long-term

Maybe you have a nice amount of weed and don’t plan to smoke it up quickly. Or maybe you picked up a quality strain from the dispensary and want it to remain potent for the long-haul. Either way, learning how to store bud properly helps ensure your marijuana stay fresh, so that it still tastes great when you’re ready to enjoy it.

Want to grow your own weed? Read Robert Bergman’s Marijuana Grow Bible. Get your free copy here.

FAQs about storing weed

What is the best temperature for storing weed?

You don’t want the temperature to be too hot or too cold. Make sure you store your weed in temperatures below 78℉, ideally between 32℉ and 68℉

What’s the ideal jar size for storing weed?

Your jar size should be relative to the size of your grow and how you like your product. Make sure it’s large enough to hold your weed and with very little spare room left inside.

What is the best relative humidity for storing weed?

Between 59 and 63 relative humidity.

Avatar for Sarah

Sarah

Writer, Customer Support Angel at I Love Growing Marijuana

Sarah is a D&D fanatic and loves singing silly songs to her cat. No matter what she does though, Sarah can always be found with a bong in hand. If there is one strain that she could call her favorite, that would be Zkittlez because it matches her colorful personality and hair!... [Read full bio]

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5 comments on “Best way to store weed”

  1. I always hang for 14 days then cutt and put into glass jars burning for 20 days then seal up jars and turn over every day and burb every day for about 5 min.

  2. Most of the info seems to be about indoor grows I am starting my 25th outdoor grow. I would like to see more about that

  3. I would like to know if you can send to my email a new Copy of the grow bible.. Mine was inadvertently erased.

  4. I found that the best way to store my herbs is in CVault containers with Boveda packs to keep the moisture level perfectly maintained, works great