Why all pot products should come with an expiration date
If you’ve checked your pot products only to find that they don’t offer a clear expiry date, then you are not alone, as most of the legal market still doesn’t require this information to be part of the package. So, does that mean the product within the container can stay good for forever? Or does weed go bad? In which case this small missing bit of data might add up to something big to worry about, so what is the truth, and why is it so carefully hidden from us?
Does weed go bad?
Yes, weed can become expired, but not in the way that we expect from other common perishables like food. Normally, when we say something’s gone bad, it’s because there is some visual indication that it’s happened, be it a past expiry date or a thick layer of fluffy mold. These things can often make us sick, but that’s not generally how “bad weed” works. Expired cannabis isn’t going to make you nauseous or force you to vomit, but it does significantly break down a degrade over time.
Those first few precious moments after a big harvest are special. It’s the essential protected zone, where much of the risk associated with the task of growing has passed, and cultivators can finally get a chance to relax while measuring up their spoils. At this point, those cannabis buds are in their prime, ripe and full of terpenes and powerful cannabinoids that are ready to get to work, but there is still plenty to be done.
Drying and curing must take place before your perfect buds can be stored away for safekeeping, and the moment they enter the weed storage phase, the degradation has already begun. That’s right before those bugs are even packed; they’re breaking down at a molecular level. The terpenes are evaporating, moisture is lifting, and the cannabinoids are beginning the process of dying.
In storage, cannabis can last for several months and still come out on the other side a relatively decent quality. Still, plants that were harvested only a couple of months ago are going to be far more powerful and enjoyable than those that have been waiting on a shelf somewhere for half a year or more. This, of course, isn’t quite where you will find “bad weed” as it doesn’t turn to powder or rot, but at what point are cannabis products really bad?
Many would say that anything not picked within the last 6 months is an old crop that should be sold at a lower price than something that just sprang fresh off the press, and that makes perfect sense, but it’s not the system that’s being followed by legal cannabis. In fact, some studies estimate that the majority of pot products at dispensaries are at least that old, even though we know that’s not a good thing.
Licensed producers in Canada, a young and robust cannabis industry, have publicly announced that they have millions of dollars’ worth of cannabis that’s been held up in storage for many months, hinting at the fact that they plan on selling it to consumers regardless of whether or not it’s fresh or good.
Efforts to avoid it
Some cultivators will turn old, bad weed into extracts in hopes of salvaging what’s left of the precious products; before tossing away the empty plant materials, while others have turned to unique storage solutions like near-freezing temperatures in hopes of biding more time. Still, in the end, consumers are getting pot products that could be aged to perfection or expired, and there’s really no good way to tell the difference without a label that tells us when it was harvested.
What happens when you smoke bad weed?
You might be awaiting the announcement of some horrid things that can happen when you smoke bad weed, but the truth is that it’s very likely nothing will follow, and that's precisely the problem. No nausea, anxiety, or extreme soothing sedation will take hold, and you’ll only be left with a set of lungs full of smoke as you impatiently await what should be the impending high. Sadly, with bad weed, you might not feel anything, and that’s why it’s so important for our pot products to come with an expiry date.
