Cannabis and humidity – how to control humidity while storing marijuana flowers?

We are a step from telling you why there is a connection between cannabis and humidity. Keep reading.

Once upon a time, weed was just weed. It came in a plastic bag from a friend of a friend, and when you bought it you probably didn’t get much information about variety, strength or possible contamination. Today, you can browse thousands of varieties by their specific smell, taste, and effects, buy cannabis in any form, even create your own personal selection of cannabis.

The problem with these options? It’s hard to keep supplies fresh. Whether you indulge in a variety meant only for special occasions or have a selection of indica, sativa, and hybrid varieties on hand for different times of day, your cannabis can go bad over time if you don’t take care of storage and manage its humidity.

Cannabis and humidity – why it is so important?

Most cannabis consumers know that humidity affects their supplies, they’re just not sure exactly how. Relative humidity, or RH, refers to the amount of moisture in the air relative to the amount of humidity the air can physically hold at a given temperature. It can affect everything from the subtlety of a dab to the effectiveness of cannabis in treating a given medical condition.

Maintaining perfect relative humidity is a delicate balance that has real implications for consumers of both recreational and medical cannabis. The following sections address the specific impacts of humidity on cannabis and their relevance to consumers of all kinds.

How does humidity affect properties of cannabis flowers?

The aromas and flavours of cannabis are associated with terpenes, the fragrant essential oils that give the variety their characteristic taste and smell, while mitigating the effects that the cannabis variety has on you. It is these that give Baba Yaga its characteristic citrus aroma with more fruity tones. This leads to a very relaxing state of the body.

If you keep the humidity too low, the cannabis trichomes in which these precious terpenes and cannabinoids are found will break down over time. For the consumer, this means you’ll no longer get the overwhelming whiff of oranges or the taste of the rich, juicy notes, or the pepper flavour. The loss of terpenes can also deprive patients of the therapeutic effects they feel; for example, myrcene is thought to be partly responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects attributed to varieties like Cleopatra, and the loss of these terpenes can mean the loss of these positive effects.

Cannabis and humidity – how to prevent marijuana contamination?

While too dry an environment destroys the valuable active ingredients in cannabis, too humid an environment brings a whole host of harmful substances into your stash. For example, under certain conditions, mould and bacteria often proliferate on cannabis, especially if the relative humidity is too high (generally considered to be over 65%).

Not only can contamination cause an unpleasant smell and taste for the casual consumer, contaminants are particularly problematic for people who use cannabis as medicine, especially if their immune system is already compromised by their medical condition. For example, HIV/AIDS and cancer patients are particularly susceptible to conditions such as aspergillosis, a potentially fatal lung disease that can result from ingesting cannabis fungi such as Aspergillus. The ability to control moisture means the ability to protect against these types of diseases caused by contamination.

Maintaining Humidity

We’ve quickly explained how important humidity is for the storage of your cannabis stock and how too little or too much of it can make your fruits of labour pretty much worthless.

Traditionally, cannabis consumers are told to keep their cannabis between 59% and 63% relative humidity (RH) to ensure that their cannabis doesn’t lose weight, potency, and valuable cannabinoids while being protected from mold and fungus. Recently, however, some consumers prefer a slightly drier environment with RHs as high as 54%. It all depends on your personal preference and how long you intend to store the variety. But it’s always a good idea to take the advice of someone experienced in your area, or do some research on the web.

For upcoming season, you should check our collection cannabis seeds and pick whatever you like.