weed conservation

[fhydro]

How long time is it possible to keep cured and dry weed in jars? Months, years ?
Fhydro

fhydro Reviewed by fhydro on 10-02-2005. weed conservation How long time is it possible to keep cured and dry weed in jars? Months, years ? Fhydro Rating: 5

[Zandor]

Once they are cured if I need to hold them I put them in a vaccum-sealed package and keep them in my deep freeze

[misty116]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! dont freeze weed!!!!!!!!!!

THC is quite a complex molecule and the more stress you apply to a sample, the higher the fraction of it that will break down into a lower-energy form, ie: something else! [im a chemistry student btw.....] i garuantee that weed that has been frozen will lose potency [although i dont think it matters how long in the freezer, just whether it has been frozen or not....] perhaps to a great degree.

in case you were wondering, its not the low temperature, its the crystallisation/solidification of the molecule that stresses it.

on the other hand, at room temperature THC is relatively stable, and although it will break down over time, i reckon, maybe 6 months might be achieved in a bag with alot of the air squeezed out, i would hesitate to vacuum-pack it though. plus, keep it in the DARK.

[Zandor]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! dont freeze weed!!!!!!!!!!
[im a chemistry student btw.....]

LOL

[turtle420]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! dont freeze weed!!!!!!!!!!

THC is quite a complex molecule and the more stress you apply to a sample, the higher the fraction of it that will break down into a lower-energy form, ie: something else! [im a chemistry student btw.....] i garuantee that weed that has been frozen will lose potency [although i dont think it matters how long in the freezer, just whether it has been frozen or not....] perhaps to a great degree.

in case you were wondering, its not the low temperature, its the crystallisation/solidification of the molecule that stresses it.

on the other hand, at room temperature THC is relatively stable, and although it will break down over time, i reckon, maybe 6 months might be achieved in a bag with alot of the air squeezed out, i would hesitate to vacuum-pack it though. plus, keep it in the DARK.

Let's see...

THC is quite a complex molecule and the more stress you apply to a sample, the higher the fraction of it that will break down into a lower-energy form

True... But, when you 'freeze' something, you are taking energy away from it... thus, when you freeze it, you reduce the stress on the THC molecule. In order for the THC molecule to "break down" into something of "a lower energy form", it would need to increase its energy so it can clear the activation energy of such a process...

i garuantee that weed that has been frozen will lose potency

What are you offering? 10years? 100,000miles?

Yes, frozen weed will not be exactly as un-frozen weed... but that's because the water molecules line up (hydrogen hybrid bonding) and form ice... and the ice wreaks havoc to the bud. BUT, the THC molecule per se, will not change it's structure because of lowering its temperature (even below freezing).

If you freeze your buds, and then un-freeze them in the microwave, then you are (1)a moron, (2)destroying a lot of THC molecules. If you un-freeze your buds by leaving them on the counter top for a couple of hours, no harm will happen to them.

on the other hand, at room temperature THC is relatively stable

Sorry my chemy friend... THC is a relatively UNstable molecule @ room temperature. Just leave weed in a jar, without airflow, light or high temps, and you'll see that it looses potency. Slowly, but surely.

its the crystallisation/solidification of the molecule that stresses it.

True... very true. But remember, you're talking about the WATER molecule there... the THC molecule doesn't form a 'crystal', even when it's temp goes down drastically. Yes, it will solidify, but under close inspection with a microscope (sorry people, we're talking about $250,000 ESEM microscopes here), you'll see that the THC molecules are not forming crystals. Maybe you'll see two or three THC molecules lined up, but seeing dozens of them lined up? No way. It's just too complex of a molecule to form a crystal with its self.

i would hesitate to vacuum-pack it though

Yes... if you vacuum-pack your buds, you should use only a light vacuum... such as those acheived by food-storage machines (non-commercial). When you pull a vacuum in a jar, you're lowering a subtance's evaporation point. If you pull too much of a vacuum, yes, you will evaporate the THC out of your buds. But we're talking about heavy duty vacuums here... something you could reach with an automotive A/C vacuum unit or something, not with your average home vacuum storage machine.

keep it in the DARK

Wise words.

Misty, I really enjoyed this. If you ever need help with anything of your chemical studies, let me know. I hope I haven't put you off by this post. I look forward to your comments, questions, suggestions, flame-wars, etc.

Best,

-turtle420

[I'm a Chemical Engineer, BTW]

[Da1KrayzieThug]

I agree with turtle.
[I'm a person who took 2 years to finish 1 year biology]

[misty116]

To turtle:

ok here we go.....

yes, when you "freeze" something, you are lowering the temperature and thus the energy of the system, but as i say later, it isnt the temperature, its the solidification/crystallisation process, which squeezes and stresses the molecule, this is where the activation energy comes from, forcing it to adopt a different conformation [which isnt psychoactive].

Also, if your weed is properly dried and cured there should be very little water in your bud, remember, you are drying it because only the dehydrated form of the molecule is psychoactive.

And, yes THC, in a bud left on its own will slowly degrade, some of this is due to oxidation, so a bag with little air in it would be advisable. Also, some is due to processes triggered by light, which is why i suggested keeping it in the dark. This is not to say that it is unstable, but i only said RELATIVELY stable, it should last a while in dark, low-oxygen/air conditions.

And as for THC not crystallising, i totally agree, i never assumed it did, that is why i used the combination of solidification/crystallisation in my language, however, amorphous solidification still stresses the molecule. and for reference, the complexity of the molecule does not decide the crystallisation process, proteins can be crystallised and single molecules of those can be 100,000's of times larger than THC.

I have also enjoyed this turtle, am very not put off, and look forward to your rebuke.

But i still dont think that freezing weed is advisable....

flame-wars.....i dont know WHAT you mean..... someone has been reading my other posts......

At the VERY least, freezing weed is certainly NOT capable of enhancing the THC content of it [!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] as i have just read on another message board elsewhere.....

[turtle420]

Misty,

I agree... I guess we're on the same page then....

You did set me straight on the crystalization of the proteins... I haven't thought about that.

I don't think I've got anything to rebuke... but now that we're into chemistry... and pressures... and crystalization... and STP and crap... check this out::: http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=33801

I would very much enjoy your input

-turtle420

[misty116]

had a look at that thread, dont know much about vapourising THC but jotted down an idea or 2. interesting idea, but i really like my joints!

[Zandor]

At the VERY least, freezing weed is certainly NOT capable of enhancing the THC content of it [!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] as i have just read on another message board elsewhere.....

When the hell did I say freezing dried, cured pot would enhance the THC?

Caution trying to put words in MY mouth that would not be advisable.

I already graduated college with more then one degree and I don't take it as a joke when someone puts words in my mouth or trys to tie me to other posts elsewhere. I don't care for the association.

I'm not a nubie nor am I a kiddie.

I guess those lab's all over the world are wrong to use their deep freezers to store their samples for years then. I guess they didn't take the same class in JR College.

I guess you don't use Ice to freeze the trichomes off the plant matter when you make bubble hash either then?

Interesting?