At the turn of the 21st century, only a relative handful of states allowed for medical use of marijuana. Today there are only four U.S. states where both possession and use are still against the law.

Now that most people don’t have to worry about being busted because the neighbors smelled weed, their concerns are turning to more prosaic issues, like whether they should get a customized bong and how to keep weed fresh.

Because we’re helpful types we’ve put our heads together and come up with the following 5 tips that should help you keep your weed garden-fresh for longer. Now about that custom bong…

There are a lot of variables involved when it comes to keeping your weed fresh and preserving potency. The main ones are sunlight, heat, humidity and exposure to air. In one form or another, we'll touch on all of them in the following 5 tips.

Tip 1: Store your weed in a glass jar

But not just any glass jar. Make sure it has a lid that seals up tight. Glass jars with tight lids are an economical way to store weed because they do a good job of keeping humidity at bay while at that same time limiting the exposure to air. Dry herb stored in an airlocked jar will not be exposed to airborne microbes or the humidity that can cause them to thrive. If you can find jars with rubber seals on the lid that would be ideal. Just make sure to store them in a cool place away from direct sunlight.

Tip 2: Don’t freeze that weed!

Some will say you shouldn’t store weed in the freezer because every time you open the freezer door you run the risk of inviting microbes in to contaminate the weed. Those of us at your local wholesale smoke shop beg to differ on that point. Nonetheless, freezing your weed is not a good idea, albeit for a completely different reason. You see, as weed cures, non-psychoactive THC-A mutates into psychoactive THC. Freezing your weed stops this process in its tracks. Not good if you like a good buzz.

Tip 3: Embrace the dark side

As we alluded to a few moments ago sunlight is one of the enemies of weed. At least weed that’s been harvested and that you’re trying to store. Once the plant is disconnected from its roots it no longer receives water from within causing it to dry out. Exposing it to sunlight only accelerates this process and causes the terpenes to wither and dry out as well. What you’re left with is weed that’s harsh and meek and just a shell of its former self. So, if you’re going to store your weed in glass jars, use dark ones if at all possible. And regardless of what you store it in, keep it out of direct sunlight at all costs.

Tip 4: Be cool

It’s quite a popular myth that terpenes influence the potency of weed or steer your experience toward intense, relaxed, funny or whatever. In fact, there is virtually no evidence to support this notion. What is known, however, is that terpenes influence the color, aroma and flavor of your weed, so you don’t want your terpenes to dry out. Besides keeping your weed out of direct sunlight the next most important thing is to make sure you store it in a cool place. That's cool, not cold. Ideally, that means somewhere where the temperature is reliably below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tip 5: Ye Olde Cannabis Humidor

Most people have at least heard of the cigar humidor, even if they're not entirely sure what it is. The cigar thermador is a wooden box that seals up tight, is absolutely opaque, and maintains a stable interior humidity level. This prevents your expensive hand-rolled Cuban cigars from fouling while they wait for you to enjoy them.

A weed humidor is essentially the same thing. It’s an airtight wooden box that keeps sunlight out and maintains humidity levels somewhere between 59% and 63%. It’s ideal for the short or long-term storage of weed.

So why doesn’t everyone have a humidor to store their weed in? Because a decent humidor is going to cost you anywhere from about $300 to $1,000. The most expensive one in history was auctioned for charity in 2020 and fetched a colossal $2.6 million. Pack that into your custom bong and smoke it.

Bonus Tip: Don’t store other things in the jar with your weed

Here at our wholesale head shop, we've heard some pretty wacky stuff over time, but nothing so much as the notion that you should slice up fresh fruit and put it in the jars with your weed. The idea apparently is that this will prevent your weed from drying out as it sucks up moisture from the fruit. We’re calling BS on this one. The simple reality is that adding different organic matter in with your weed radically increases the odds of mold and mildew and will leave you with some very funky looking and smelling fruit when all is said and done.

We encourage you to take these tips to heart and to peruse our online assortment of customized glass pipes, custom bongs and more so that when you’re ready to take that weed out of storage you can enjoy it properly.