Nothing is more discouraging than finding a stash of dried-up, forgotten marijuana. Thankfully, there are still some things you can do to save your outdated weed. What to do with old weed?
There are some options such as vaping your old weed, turning old weed into edibles, or turning it into concentrate.
Read on to discover five suggestions for using old weed before you throw it away.
You May Also Like: Smoking Lavender Pros And Cons
Table of Contents
How Long Does Weed Stay Fresh?
Dried cannabis lasts between six months and a year when stored properly (more on this in a moment). It gradually starts to lose flavor and power.
According to some older research, weed loses roughly 16 percent of its THC after 1 year, and it just keeps dropping from there:
- 26 percent THC lost after 2 years
- 34 percent THC lost after 3 years
- 41 percent THC lost after 4 years
Is It Safe To Smoke Old Weed?
Flowers can be preserved for up to two years if properly stored. The quality, potency, and flavor start to significantly diminish after that. However, using old marijuana typically poses little risk to one’s health. It probably still is safe, barring mold. Simply put, fresh flowers work better.
However, if marijuana is not stored properly, it can eventually go bad. Check to see if the old nug you found in your couch cushion is safe to eat before putting it to the test. Avoid eating anything that has mold, rot, discoloration, fuzz, or an odd smell.
What To Do With Old Weed?
Old weed might not be the most enjoyable substance to smoke because it lacks moisture, flavor, and potency. But all hope is not lost, thankfully. Old weed can still retain some of the plant’s psychoactive properties for a number of other enjoyable uses.
1. Vape Your Old Weed
You should put your old marijuana in a vaporizer if you still want to experience puffing clouds. You can still breathe in the psychoactive elements of your old weed by vaping it. The valuable cannabinoid content of cannabis is inevitably destroyed when it is smoked, so vaping might be a more effective way to preserve the remaining potency.
Due to its lower terpene profile, old marijuana won’t taste as flavorful. Otherwise, vaping is a practical, discreet, and controlled way to consume used cannabis.
2. Turn Old Weed Into Edibles
Cannabis cooking is always an option, and it might even be the best one if you have old marijuana that you’re not sure how to use. By utilizing the second-pass effect to create stronger, more protracted effects, turning old weed into edibles may help you get a little more potency out of weed’s psychoactive components.
The second-pass effect develops as a result of the metabolization of THC into 11-hydroxy-THC during digestion. Compared to the delta-9 THC we are all familiar with and love, this form of THC is more effective at crossing the blood-brain barrier and generally has stronger effects.
Cannabis-infused butter or oil is used to make edibles, and it is possible to do this at home. By combining your cannabis experience with intriguing flavors, textures, and aromas, you can have fun making your old, stale weed into something new and delicious, from the traditional brownie to a more sophisticated dish.
3. Turn It Into Concentrate
People with high tolerances might need to smoke a ton of old weed before experiencing little to no high. Fortunately, you can create a stronger concentrate from your old stash and dab it. Run this the same way you would BHO. The only variation is slightly lower yields. The final product will appear darker the older your buds are.
Use the dry sift technique we mentioned above, or even a bubble hash extraction if you don’t want to use solvents. Ice, ice water, or dry ice are used to make bubble hash, along with several filtering bags. The trichomes will come off if you stir the substance while it’s cold. They won’t dissolve in water, so it will be simple to separate them from the water.
4. Turn Old Weed Into Kief
Making kief, a dry, solvent-free cannabis concentrate with more cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids than whole buds, from used marijuana is one useful use for it. The loose trichomes that have been removed from cannabis flowers are known as kief, also known as dry sift.
In the cannabis plant, trichomes contain the greatest amount of cannabinoids, including THC. This marijuana’s concentrated extract can have extremely potent effects. Use a dry herb grinder to sift the dry flower through a number of screens for the quickest way to transform your old weed into kief. After that, kief can be smoked by itself or combined with a joint.
5. Rehydrate Your Old Weed
Age causes cannabis to lose a lot of moisture, causing it to become very dried out. Rehydrate your old weed by adding moisture to its surroundings once more to give it some life.
Several methods exist for achieving this. The first involves the addition of salt-based control sachets, known as humidity packs, which are available in most authorized dispensaries. Simply mix the sachet with your marijuana and replace it as necessary.
The second technique, the citrus peel method, is one of the most widely used do-it-yourself rehydration methods. Your old marijuana will absorb moisture and citrusy flavors much more effectively if you mix in a fruit peel than it would otherwise. Keep the peel in the container with your marijuana for no more than 24 hours to prevent over-humidifying it and raising the possibility of mold.
If you don’t want to use plants or food, you can rehydrate your old weed by putting a wet cotton swab, cotton ball, or something similar into the container. But keep your ears from being directly in contact with it. Avoid soaking them in water. This process will gradually add moisture back into the environment where your old weed was growing, much like the use of humidity packs.
Bottom Line
You can also simply smoke it, although that may not be the best use for your old marijuana given that it won’t likely taste as fresh and will likely have a milder effect. You can still use that old weed if it is not moldy or unpleasant.
Read More:
