So you’ve found some old pot. Can you still use it? Will it hurt you? Will it get you high?
Our headshop gets this question all the time. Of course you don’t want to waste any precious nugs if you don’t have to. Luckily, you’re in the clear.
Using old weed can still get you high. But the best thing to do with it is to repurpose it! This can breathe some fresh air into your old pot.
Let’s go over the ins and outs of old weed, and finish off with some ideas on how to bring it back to life.
Can You Still Get High Using Old Weed?
Simply put, old weed can still get you high. Just about everyone at our Denver headshop has a story of finding an old stash. However, it becomes less potent over time. Its cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and more decrease.
Cannabis loses almost 20% of its THC each year it’s not used. And without THC, there’s no high!
Even worse, when you store weed at room temperature it loses almost ⅓ of its terpenes in a single week. Terpenes create weed’s flavor, aroma, and more.
Is It Safe To Use Old Weed?
Weed stays good for up to two years if it’s properly taken care of. It starts to degrade after that point.
That being said, using old weed doesn’t usually pose major safety concerns. It just won’t be as effective as fresh weed. The only thing you have to be wary of is mold.
Of course, we’re talking about storing weed properly. If you store it improperly, its shelf life is much shorter. Check for a weird smell, fuzz, discoloration, and mold when you stumble across some long-forgotten weed.
The last thing you want to do is throw some moldy weed into your heady glass!
What Can You Do With Old Weed?
Since old weed isn’t as enjoyable to smoke as fresh weed, it’s a good idea to put it to alternative uses. Here are some suggestions from our head shop employees!
Make Edibles
When your cannabis is a bit old, it’s probably lost some of its THC potency. But edibles have a magical effect that can help salvage your weed’s psychoactive abilities.
When THC is ingested instead of smoked, the THC gets turned into something called 11-Hydroxy-THC. This kind of THC is stronger and is better at crossing the blood-brain barrier. It also stays in your system for longer.
You make edibles by infusing oil or butter with cannabis. You can make anything from classic brownies to delicious, sophisticated salads.
Make Concentrate
If you’re really committed, you can make some strong concentrations like infused tinctures or bubble hash. Concentrates can be consumed in lots of different ways.
If you use marijuana for its therapeutic effects, concentrates are a great choice because of how potent they are.
Infused tinctures
A tincture is a mix of cannabinoids kept in alcohol or water.
Bubble hash
Bubble hash is when you collect cannabis’s glandular trichomes with ice and water.
Vape It
If you don’t want to say goodbye to puffing clouds just yet, throw your old weed into a vaporizer. Vaporizers get you higher using less weed, so they’re the perfect way to salvage the THC left in your old weed.
Vaping savors the psychoactive compounds in your weed by steaming it instead of combusting it. Combustion gets rid of some of the good stuff.
The only thing is that your old weed probably won’t taste very flavorful when you vape it. This is because there are fewer terpenes in the weed.
Make Kief
One of the best things to do with old weed is to make kief. Kief is a cannabis concentrate that has way more cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenes than whole buds do. Kief is also referred to as dry sift.
Kief is loose trichomes. Trichomes hold the most concentrated amount of all cannabinoids- THC included. When you isolate the trichomes, the effects are very strong.
Kief is often used to finish off joints or to add a little sprinkle on top of a bowl for an extra little somethin’. It can really boost your heady glass game to the next level!
Your grinder likely has a screen that sifts the kief at the bottom where it’s ready to be collected.
Rehydrate It
Over time, your bud loses moisture. This dries it out and dehydrates it. To extend its life a bit, you can also rehydrate it.
There are a couple of ways to rehydrate old weed. One way is by using humidity packs. You can find them in most dispensaries. You just need to put the sack with your weed and change it out periodically.
Our head shop carries humidity packs so that you can keep your weed stronger for longer.
There’s also the DIY citrus peel method. Put a citrus peel in with your weed for up to 24 hours. Any longer than that and you might end up with some mold on your hands.
Citrus peels gently rehydrate your weed while also adding a nice citrus flavor.
Final Thoughts From Our Northglenn Smoke Shop Team
Clearly, there are lots of ways to repurpose old weed. As long as there’s no mold, you’re good to go.
Any of these methods are great ways to revitalize some pot you found hidden away in a drawer. Don’t just smoke it- use one of these methods to get the best out of it!