With so many states legalizing marijuana for recreational and medicinal use, many people who were unfamiliar with marijuana have been introduced to the many benefits of this plant. If you’re a novice, you’re probably wondering the best way to store your bud for later, while retaining its freshness.  

The best way to store shouldn’t come down to a matter of preference. The general rule is to keep it in a cool dark place, but the following are some useful tips to ensure your marijuana stays in the best condition possible.

1) Vacuum Sealing

When you come across a strain of marijuana that you really like, it is only natural to want to purchase as much as you can. However after a few days you know your bud will dry out and when you do eventually smoke it, it will burn right up. 

The best way to prevent this is to break the marijuana into smaller portions that you then would seal up with a vacuum sealer and store in a cool dark place. This will keep it from being affected by humidity and growing mold or being exposed to too much air which will dry the bud out. 

What is the best vacuum sealer for marijuana though? This question is really down to personal opinion. If you plan on sealing more than just marijuana then you would want to go with a more expensive, heavy duty machine, while if you only intend to use it to seal your marijuana up then you can get by with a less expensive model. It really is a matter of how you plan on using the vacuum sealer.  

Not everyone can afford a vacuum sealer so these are the things to consider when storing marijuana in other ways.

2) Avoid Contact with Air

You need to prevent your marijuana from coming into contact with air when you store it. If your bud becomes too dry it will lose its potency.  

The best way to combat this is to store it in a container that you can make airtight. You need to choose a container that is the right size. Even if air isn’t flowing into the container, excess oxygen that gets stuck in the container can still ruin your buds. You need a container that will hold your cannabis easily without much room to spare but that is big enough not to crowd the buds. 

3) Temperature Matters

If your marijuana gets too hot it can dry out, and if it stays too cold condensation can occur. Ideally you will keep your buds stored somewhere where the temperature stays between 60 and 78 degrees.  
 


4) Keep Moisture Away

One of the most frustrating problems that can occur when you are storing large quantities of herb is mold growth. This is the result of moisture becoming trapped in the buds. The terpenes and cannabinoids will degrade if the bud dries out too much so it’s important to maintain the right humidity level. 

Ideally the relative humidity (the amount of air moisture relative to the amount it can hold) is between 59 and 63. The best way to control moisture is using humidity control packets. 

5) Light Kills

Exposing your marijuana to light can cause the terpenes and cannabinoids to degrade so you will want to keep your bud stored away from the light. Any shaded spot far from sun exposure will do the trick.

When you find a strain of marijuana you like, keep it in a dark, cool place. Check on it to see that it doesn’t dry out or stay too moist. This way, it will easily last for months.