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Whether you've been sold uncured, wet weed (don't use this person again), spilt beer on your high-grade, or just dropped it on the damp floor, you're going to want to dry it off before you smoke it. Find out about three easy methods to dry and cure cannabis here!
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There are times when, for one reason or another, we’re faced with wet cannabis. Though annoying, this is no great disaster, and you needn’t feel that your bud is ruined. Instead, read this guide, and you’ll see that drying wet bud is pretty simple—plus, you’ve probably got everything you need to do it right now.
Good luck!
Wet Weed Vs The Sticky Icky
It’s important to determine whether you’ve got wet cannabis or just resin-drenched bud. If your weed is dense and sticky to the touch, then you’ve likely got a high-quality strain with an abundance of trichomes oozing with the good stuff.
If, however, your weed feels wet and squishy, and doesn’t feel particularly sticky, then, unfortunately, you’ve probably got wet weed. But fear not; though wet weed is no good thing, if you deal with it early, it’s no disaster either. Drying your weed off is easy enough, and you can still enjoy a good smoke at the end of it—that is if you take the proper precautions.
Why Should You Dry Your Weed?
Smoking wet weed is not inherently dangerous, but it’s nowhere near as good as smoking nicely dried and cured weed. In certain circumstances, it can even become dangerous. Here are some reasons not to smoke wet marijuana.
- Hard to burn: This one’s not even up for debate. Trying to smoke wet bud, be it in a joint, bong, or vape, is going to be difficult. You’ll have to pull extra hard, won’t get a satisfying hit, and it will taste bad too. The minimal effort required to dry off wet weed is certainly worth it just to avoid this alone.
- Risk of inhaling mould spores: Wet things attract mould growth, and it’s no different for weed. If mould grows on your bud, then it’s done for. If you do smoke it, there’s a danger you could inhale spores, which can be irritating and even dangerous for certain individuals. Drying and curing weed isn’t just about quality, but about storage and safety too.
- You get less than you paid for: When weed is dried, it loses up to 75% of its weight. So if you buy fully dried weed, compared to fully wet weed, you could be getting up to four times as much for your money.
How To Dry Wet Weed: 3 Techniques
Life isn’t always perfect, though. Perhaps you’ve been sold some wet weed; maybe you’ve spilled some water on your new bud—who knows? Whatever the cause, you now have damp buds. There’s no point in getting upset; we just have to deal with these things.
Fortunately, drying wet weed is pretty easy. Here are three methods you could use.
The paper towel technique
It doesn’t get much simpler than this method.
First, you need to find yourself some paper towels. Place your wet weed on top of a few sheets, and move it to a dry and dark place, preferably with some airflow, whether ambient or caused by a fan/dehumidifier. If you have a fan or dehumidifier, this can make the process much more efficient.
Every few hours, return to your bud and replace the paper towels on which it sits. As these will be absorbing the moisture, they need to be replaced occasionally.
Ultimately, how wet your buds were will determine how long the drying process takes. It could be a matter of hours; it could be longer. Either way, be patient! Each time you change the paper towels, inspect your weed and check for signs of mould. If you find some—bad news—you have to throw it away!
The rice technique
Upon accidentally soaking our phones, many of us will immediately stick them in a jar of rice to draw the water back out. Well, this method is no different in our scenario, except it’s weed we’re trying to dry off.
Place your weed in a Mason jar and cover it with rice. Then, leave it for a good 24 hours before checking it again. Make sure to leave the lid off through the whole process. Hopefully, by doing so, the buds will be delicious and dry, ready to be smoked. If not, you’re going to mix this with the previous method. Break up the weed into smaller pieces, place them on paper towels, and follow the instructions above.
Optional: the humidity pack technique
If you want to take it a step further and properly cure your weed (especially if you suspect the weed you’ve been sold has yet to undergo this process), then you can also use this technique. One thing to note; this is an additional step following one or both of the previous, as you want your weed to be mostly dry before you start doing this.
Like the rice method, you can use a Mason jar to carry out this process. Place your bud inside it with a few humidity packs (silica gel). Once or twice a day, you’ll want to open, or “burp”, it for a few minutes to let the moisture out, and fresh air in.
This method could take several days. In fact, when people are curing their harvest, they often do it for several weeks. How wet it is to start with, and what sort of results you're after, will dictate how long you’re willing to cure it for.
Things To Avoid When Drying Wet Weed
Although drying weed is easy, there are some pitfalls to avoid:
- Don’t expose it to a heat source: Although tempting (and fast), exposing your bud to heat will also reduce its quality. You risk breaking down some of the THC, depending on how much you heat it. Even if it’s not hot enough to cause the THC to degrade, exposing your stash to heat will dry it out to a degree that it becomes harsh to consume, and will ruin its flavour somewhat.
- Do not put it in the microwave! Not only will this not dry weed effectively, but it will certainly degrade the THC.
- Mould: It might be tempting to let a little bit of mould go and smoke it anyway, but you could regret it. Put your health first and accept the loss; there will always be more.
- Avoid chemicals: If your weed has been soaked in a liquid that is contaminated, it will still be contaminated after it’s dry, so let it go!
- Don’t expose it to light: Light breaks down the cannabinoids in weed, and will decrease its potency, potentially significantly.
Drying Wet Cannabis: Patience Is Key
Unless you ignore the above advice and expose your weed to a heat source (such as a hairdryer), then you’re going to be waiting a little while before you can smoke your wet weed. Rest assured that, if you exercise patience, you will be rewarded with some delicious bud at the end of it.
Drying weed is incredibly simple and shouldn’t take too long. If you’ve no bud to smoke in the meantime, occupy yourself and don’t sit watching it dry—you’ll regret it!
