How to Store Your Cannabis for Maximum Potency: A Guide for Michigan Conditions

Michigan is no stranger to extreme weather. From winter temps that regularly slip below 0F to soaring summer heat, storing your cannabis well is vital to keep your products fresh, flavorful, and potent.

How to store cannabis for potency in Michigan’s varied climate is one of the most common questions we get at RiZE. This blog covers cannabis storage tips to keep your products well through any season.

Key Takeaways:

• Storing cannabis properly keeps products fresh, flavorful, and protects potency.
• Since cannabis is a natural product, it doesn’t last forever. Bad storage can lead to stale, harsh flower, tough or melted edibles, leaking vapes, and degraded product potency.
• Keep cannabis products stored in a dark, airtight container away from light exposure and temperature changes.
• These storage practices work well year-round, even with Michigan’s extreme seasonal weather changes.
• RiZE dispensaries help you store your cannabis products properly.

Does Cannabis Storage Matter?

Yes! Cannabis is a plant, and whether it’s in flower form or processed into an edible or a tincture, the compounds in it won’t last forever. Storing your cannabis properly helps delay the degradation process of cannabinoids like THC and terpenes, keeping your products flavorful and potent.

Storing your cannabis properly also keeps your household safe. If you live with kids, pets, or roommates, storing cannabis well keeps these out of prying eyes, curious hands, and mouths it shouldn’t go in.

Can Weed Go Bad?

Yes. Cannabis products can go stale, and if they do, they won’t taste as good or work as well. Improperly stored cannabis products can also get harsh, tough, or moldy.

In the summer, the biggest risk to cannabis products is light and heat exposure. In the winter, temperatures dropping below and rising above freezing can encourage mold growth due to condensation.

Proper cannabis storage helps avoid these problems.

5 Tips to Store Your Cannabis for Maximum Potency in Michigan

TL/DR: cannabis products should be stored in airtight containers in temperature-stable places, like a cabinet or closet, year-round in Michigan.

1. Store products in an airtight container

All cannabis should be stored in a completely airtight container. For edibles, tinctures, concentrates, and topicals, this can be the package that you buy them in. Prerolls can also be kept in individual tubes. Flower should be moved from plastic packages to an airtight container, preferably a dark glass jar.

2. Keep products in a dark, temperature-stable environment

Don’t leave your tinctures on the kitchen table or your edibles out in the car.

Heat and light exposure can degrade both cannabinoids and terpenes, taking away precious aromas, flavor, and potency from your experience. Cannabis products stay fresh when they’re kept in stable environments. The back of a cupboard or closet works well.

3. Use humidity packs for flower or prerolls

If you’re storing cannabis flower or prerolls for continued enjoyment, a humidity pack can help ensure the freshness of your stash for weeks. Humidity swings, especially in Michigan summers, spell trouble for cannabis flower.

Keeping a Boveda humidity pack in your stash jar helps keep the humidity levels balanced for optimal freshness, adding moisture so flower doesn’t get too dry, or drawing it out so it doesn’t attract mold.

4. Keep vapes and prerolls stored upright

Vapes and prerolls should be stored upright. For vapes, storing upright keeps the oil in the proper position inside the cartridge and helps prevent leaks, spills, or clogs.

Keeping prerolls upright preserves the structural integrity of the joint, so you have a good smoking experience and aren’t fighting to keep a crushed preroll lit.

5. Invest in lockable storage

If you live with pets or kids (or nosy roommates), consider investing in a lockable stash box to keep your weed safe. Many lockable stash boxes have built-in humidor properties to help your weed stay fresh for longer, regulating humidity and keeping oxygen and light out.

Additionally, you get the peace of mind in knowing that only you can access your weed.

FAQ

• • Can weed go bad in the summer?

    Yes. Intense heat and high amounts of humidity present a risk to your stash. Keep cannabis products stored in an airtight container in a dark, temperature-stable place. Do not leave flower, edibles, concentrates, or vapes in your car, as temperature changes can encourage THC degradation.

• • Can weed go bad in the winter?

    Yes. Exposure to fluctuating temperatures, particularly above and below freezing, can encourage moisture retention and condensation, which can attract bacteria and mold. Cannabis products should always be stored in an airtight container and a dark, stable environment.

• • How to store weed flower?

    Cannabis flower should be kept in an airtight container in the dark. Tinted glass jars are the best option, but airtight silicone and plastic containers can also work. Boveda packs can also help keep your weed fresh in storage.

• • How to store weed edibles?

    Most edibles are fine to keep at room temperature in an airtight container, in a temperature-stable place. However, if you live somewhere without AC in the summer, it’s fine to store your cannabis edibles and THC drinks in the fridge to keep them from melting.

• How to store cannabis concentrates?

  Cannabis concentrates should be stored in an airtight container (usually the package) in a dark place where the temperature doesn’t change much.

Keeping concentrates in the fridge is controversial, but some cannabis lovers swear by it. If you choose to try this, ensure your concentrates aren’t left out of the fridge for too long, or they can start to mold.

Cannabis Knowledge Based in the Upper Peninsula

Good cannabis storage practices keep your bud fresh in any season, whether it’s -15F outside or 85F with 99% humidity. RiZE is proud to be your partner in cannabis, with answers to your questions and a wide selection of affordable, high-quality cannabis products.

Stop by RiZE dispensaries throughout the Upper Peninsula in Ironwood, Iron Mountain, and Menominee and experience the difference of a licensed, community-focused dispensary.

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this blog are intended for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.