Whether you accidentally spilled your drink on your buds while preparing to roll a joint or unknowingly purchased improperly cured flowers, realizing you have wet weed is understandably concerning. And it is frustrating to be unsure whether you can use it or will have to toss it.
Luckily, we’ve got some good news for you. There are ways to dry wet weed so you can save your stash.
Wet vs. Sticky Weed: Signs To Know
First things first. Is your weed actually wet, or is it how it should be?
At first glance, high-quality buds might look a bit damp. That dampness signals that your flowers have an abundance of trichomes oozing with beneficial compounds.
One of the easiest ways to tell if you’re dealing with wet weed — assuming you didn’t spill liquid on your half-smoked joint or otherwise see it get wet — is to touch it. Good cannabis should feel sticky. If your buds feel moist and squishy, they’re too damp.
Smelling your buds can also help you determine if you have a problem. Good weed has a strong earthy, musky aroma. Wet weed, on the other hand, can smell grassy. In more serious cases, it may have an off or unpleasant odor.
Issues of Wet Weed
Wet cannabis presents a few issues:
- Grinding: Where good weed breaks apart easily, wet buds stick together and prove challenging to grind.
- Lighting up: A joint or bowl full of wet cannabis won’t light easily or burn evenly.
- Poor flavor experiences: Even if you manage to light up, your hits aren’t likely to taste very good.
- Mold risk: Excess moisture is one of the main enemies of cannabis. If your buds sit too damp for too long, mold and mildew can grow, making your stash unsalvageable.
- Financial: Trying to light and smoke wet weed does more than waste time and energy. It also wastes money. After all, you have to use more to experience any benefits. And wet weed weighs more. Since you buy flowers by weight, you’ll get less than what you pay for if you buy improperly dried and cured buds.
Is Wet Weed Safe To Smoke?
In many cases, smoking wet weed isn’t inherently dangerous. However, it won’t be a pleasant experience. In addition to tasting bad, it may be a harsher smoke, irritating your throat and lungs.
Wed weed’s most concerning risk is the potential for mold. Smoking moldy weed can lead to a host of health issues, including headaches, breathing problems, and even pneumonia. If your weed gets wet, you’ll want to dry it out as soon as possible to reduce the risk of mold growth.
How To Dry Wet Weed
Wet weed is annoying. Thankfully, you can save it. One of the first things you’ll want to do — especially if you suspect that your buds have been wet for a while — is to check for signs of mold. You’ll want to do this after you dry your weed, too, just to be safe.
The following tips can help you salvage your wet weed.
1. Air Dry It on Paper Towels
One of the easiest ways to dry wet cannabis is with paper towels. Start by breaking your buds into smaller pieces. Then, wrap them in a few layers of paper towels and place them in a cool, dark location. If you have one, consider turning on a small room fan or dehumidifier to assist with moisture removal.
The biggest risk of this method is the potential for mold growth. You can avoid this by checking on your cannabis periodically and changing the paper towels as needed.
2. Place It in a Jar of Rice
Have you ever dropped your cell phone in the water? If so, you were probably told to put it in a jar of rice to dry it out. As it turns out, this same trick can help you dry wet weed.
Simply place your wet cannabis in a mason jar and cover it with rice. Store it in a cool, dark place for 24 hours. If it isn’t dry enough, break the buds into smaller pieces and use the paper towel method above.
3. Use Humidity Packs
If your weed is only a little wet, you can draw out excess moisture with a humidity pack (silica gel). Like the rice method, you’ll want to place your cannabis in a glass mason jar. Toss in a humidity pack or two and close the lid. Check on the jar periodically and open the lid to let out excess moisture.
4. Have Patience
You may come across “quick dry” methods like placing your buds in the oven at a low temperature, using a hair dryer on them, or even setting them out in the sun. While these methods will dry cannabis, they’re also likely to do more harm than good. High heat and light exposure can degrade cannabinoids and valuable terpenes, leaving you with lower-quality, less enjoyable weed.
Patience is key. Drying wet weed will take time to preserve your stash’s integrity.
Minimize the Risk of Wet Weed
Accidents happen. Fortunately, if you act quickly, you can restore wet weed and avoid having to throw it away. You can also reduce the risk of your cannabis getting wet with proper storage.
Ideally, you’ll want to keep your buds in glass jars with airtight lids. Store your jars where they won’t be exposed to direct light, heat, and humidity, such as in a pantry or cupboard. You can also avoid wet weed by purchasing your buds from a reputable source.
At VidaCann, our mission is to help our Florida friends and neighbors live their healthiest lives. We’re proud to offer a selection of the highest-quality cannabis flowers from well-known, top-tier brands. Our dispensaries have a wide variety of other products, including vaporizers, tinctures, edibles, tablets, and topicals, making it easy to find the perfect solutions for your unique needs.
Check out our products online or visit your nearest Florida VidaCann dispensary today!
