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After a trip to the dispensary, Arkansas marijuana patients bring their cannabis home for storage and use. Storing your cannabis plays a critical part in maintaining the freshness, taste, and potency.
When prices are high you want to get the biggest bang for your buck.
If your cannabis isn’t stored properly, it could be less potent over time.
When you want to know how to maintain your product for maximum effectiveness over time, Arkansas Marijuana Card has you covered.
In this article, we’ll go over what can happen to your cannabis over time, and how to properly store it for a better experience..
Arkansas Cannabis: How Long Will It Last?
Cannabis can potentially last for up to two years under the right conditions.
The buds you buy at the dispensary have already been through a whole process by the time they’re in your hands. They’ve been grown from seed to maturity, harvested, cured, and dried.
All under very specific conditions that give each plant the best environment to flourish.
As a plant, cannabis is very environmentally conscious. The temperature, light, and the air play key roles in what happens to your buds over time, so managing these factors will help your cannabis stay potent and keep bad things like mold and mildew at bay.
How Should I Store my Arkansas Medical Marijuana?
You don’t need fancy jars or expensive cases to store your cannabis. While there are some things that heavily determine how long your cannabis lasts, it’s likely that your cannabis will be in a container from a dispensary that is perfectly fine for storage.
In fact, you can really use whatever you’d like to store your buds, however it might dry out or become less potent, and there are certainly ways to make it last longer. In determining the best way to store your cannabis, there are four main factors that contribute to how long your buds can last.
Temperature
Temperature is an important part of storing your cannabis. You don’t want it hot by any means (unless you’re smoking it), and you don’t want it too cold unless you’re freezing it. Higher temperatures will obviously degrade your cannabis, and a mixture of heat, moisture, and lack of light can produce mold.
The optimal temperature to store cannabis is between 70ºF - 78ºF.
This will keep your buds fresh and keep them free from mold or mildew.
Light
Light is also an important factor in storing your cannabis. Persistent Ultra-Violet (UV) light degrades cannabis. Terpenes, THC and other cannabinoids are all very receptive to UV light, and to keep them intact you need to prevent exposure to light sources.
This can be done very easily with a dark container, made of wood, glass, or composite materials. Some woods are less preferable than others, cedar for example is commonly used for cigar humidors, but will make your cannabis have a cedar flavor. Plastics are not necessarily a better material, as they can sweat and cause moisture to get into your buds, and you absolutely don’t want that. Glass jars that are covered can be one of the best ways to keep your buds safe from many elements.
Air
Specifically humidity.
Too much humidity will cause mold, and too little will destroy your terpenes and cannabinoids. If you’re keeping your cannabis at the right temperature, the easiest way to keep the humidity in the right zone is to keep your buds in an airtight container.
Vacuum sealing is probably the most efficient way, but a little overkill.
A jar with a sealable lid will work fine, you just need to make sure your cannabis is not being exposed to the changes in humidity.
Time
The last major component in storing your cannabis is time. This is a really simple one, but it matters at every level. Too much time can pass, and your buds are just simply not going to be as potent.
Too much time exposed to high humidity will cause mold, and too much time exposed to light will destroy your cannabinoids.
If you don’t plan on storing your cannabis for long periods of time, you likely won’t need to worry about your plants becoming unstable or ruined very quickly. If you use cannabis at a lower frequency or find yourself sitting on your stash for a few weeks, you can make sure your buds last by keeping all of these factors in check.
Arkansas Edibles, Vape Cartridges, and Oils
Somewhat different rules apply to other products like edibles, extracts, and vape cartridges.
Concentrates can be kept under similar conditions, and you can expect them to last for around the same 1 to 2 years. Though you will naturally lose potency due to the composition of extracts being refined and reduced. The more you open your container, the more it will degrade, and quickly.
If your concentrate is hanging around for a while, you’ll likely notice it become a little softer and wetter.
This is part of a process called nucleation, which is when particles inside your material start to separate. This is a mechanism that’s even induced purposefully to create “sauce” or “diamonds”. Your concentrate will still be fine to use if this starts to occur, keep the light low and the air tight to prevent faster degradation.
Edibles should be stored as instructed on the label. Like any foodstuff, the appropriate way to store them will be unique to what they are. Chocolates and gummies will melt much faster than hard candies, and tinctures will tell you whether they should be refrigerated or not.
Vape cartridges are a unique situation since the oil is in its own container.
Vape cartridges should last around a year or so, though due to the nature of their convenience and ease of use, they’re likely to be purchased and consumed much quicker than that. Keep them away from light and don’t overexpose them to high external temperatures and they should be just fine.
Get Your Arkansas Marijuana Card
There are lots of ways to store your cannabis. As an Arkansas marijuana patient, the cannabis you consume comes from cultivators and dispensaries with long lists of requirements for safety and regulation.
Most cultivators in Arkansas package their cannabis in glass jars, and when you purchase your cannabis from a dispensary, you’re already ahead of the game in keeping your buds airtight. The labels on the jars even help block some of the light from entering.
Becoming an Arkansas medical marijuana patient is easier than ever, and Arkansas Marijuana Card is here to help.
We’re dedicated to helping patients every step of the way, feel free to give us a call at 844-249-8714, and we can answer your questions about getting medical marijuana in Arkansas.
Doctors Who Care. Relief You Can Trust.
Helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at 844-249-8714, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
Check out Arkansas Marijuana Card’s Blog to keep up to date on the latest medical marijuana news, tips, and information. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to join the medical marijuana conversation in Arkansas.
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