Decarbing Your Weed

      So it’s time to gather the ingredients to make your favorite weed recipe, but you can’t just sprinkle it in your favorite dish. For those unaware, to create the best edibles that are effective, decarbing your weed is a must! 

Why You Have to Decarb Your Weed

      In its raw form, there is no psychoactive effect to cannabis, so in this essential step we are using heat to convert THCA to THC. Decarbing your weed means you are chemically altering it with heat to activate raw cannabis into a more potent enhanced form. This happens when you smoke weed by using fire to create this chemical process. This is a critically important step in making an effective edible and should never be skipped.

To Decarb Weed You Need The Following Items:

1. 1 gram of your finest cannabis (The better the quality, the better and more potent the final product is)
2. Parchment paper
3. Tin Foil or oven-safe airtight container/bag
4. A baking sheet
5. A wooden spoon
6. A grinder (Check out a list of our favorite ones HERE)

Time to Decarb Your Weed

1. Heat your oven to 250 degrees. 
2. Cover your baking sheet in parchment paper and get ready to prepare your nugs.
3. Take full ungrounded nugs and break them apart with your hands, or if you have a pair of scissors, cut them into smaller pieces.
4. Once your cannabis is broken apart, bundle it in the parchment paper. 
5. Take your bundle of parchment paper and wrap it with tin foil or an airtight oven safe silicone bag or container. 
6. Next, place the secured pouch in the oven, either on a baking sheet or dish. 
7. Leave it in the oven for roughly 30 minutes. It takes around 30 minutes for about 80% of the THCA to be converted into THC. Note: Make sure if this is your first time leave the weed in the oven for less time so you don’t burn it. The more often you decarb weed, you will figure out how long is best to leave it in your oven.
8. Once timer goes off, remove the baking sheet from the oven. 
9. Allow your nugs to reach room temperature and then try to achieve a medium coarse grind using your trusty grinder. If you don’t have a grinder check out our article here about how to grind without a grinder.

       If you’re looking for an example to help eyeball what a medium coarse looks like in this case, be sure to compare your grind to coffee. Remember, you must use the now decarbed weed right away to make your favorite weed recipe.

       If you want to check out our favorite weed recipes we have a section just for you HERE and are always adding new ones! Please leave a comment below if you have any questions, or any tips you would like to share with the community.

      One of our favorite youtubers, House of Puff, made a great video explaining this process. You can check out her channel HERE. If you have any questions or tips for decarbing weed and want to share with the community, please do in the comment section below.

How To Travel With Your Weed Grinder

         With many states and countries changing their mind’s when it comes to marijuana. There is a major question floating in the minds of travelers, “Is it illegal to travel with a weed grinder?” Not in the U.S. and probably not most places in the world. Keep in mind though, If your weed grinder smells of cannabis and has the sticky residue of cannabis upon it, this may complicate traveling with it and bringing it thru TSA, as in certain states and countries weed is still illegal.

Keep It Clean

        Isopropyl Alcohol easily removes cannabis residue, so don’t be lazy and clean your paraphernalia ( See our article about how to clean your weed grinder HERE). Once it is cleaned, it is merely a spice grinder. You can take it in either your carry-on or checked luggage in fact! Don’t forget, one must take special care to clean their weed grinder! Along with isopropyl alcohol, we recommend freezing the grinder and scrubbing with a toothbrush before travel to ensure all traces of marijuana are removed from the grinder itself.

        While the grinder is allowed on planes once cleaned, another thing to consider is what material and shape your weed grinder is made out of. Bringing a metal based grinder in your carry on will set off every metal detector you pass through requiring you to have it inspected at each checkpoint. So while you can bring it in your carry on, I would suggest storing it in your checked luggage. An important note; when it comes to designs and shapes, you cannot bring any weapon replicas on board a plane in the federal United States. If your grinder is shaped like a grenade, knife, or a gun, best to leave it at home!

Can You Bring Cannabis On A Plane?

        Now that we’ve gone over traveling with grinders, let’s talk about the real question on everyone’s brain, “Can you bring cannabis on a plane?” Bringing any traces of marijuana is a whole different matter entirely. You cannot carry vape oil, flower,  or even edibles on most planes as it still remains a schedule 1 substance despite talks of federal decriminalization ( See our article about Decriminalization vs Legalization HERE).

         Though certain airports, like LAX, do have rules which allow a “Personal use stash” on a plane once airport security clears you. Even though some airports can make allowances for bringing weed, TSA can take the weed should they so choose. You should consult the rules at any airport you plan on traveling to, thru, or form to ensure you don’t run into trouble.

        Another item to keep in mind is if you decide to take the plunge and travel with cannabis in your checked luggage keep in mind, TSA retains the right to look through your bag. They will leave a small note amongst your belongings informing you this has occurred. Besides TSA leaving a note, which there is no real consequence to this, it does put you on the radar of the state and federal government, so make sure you’re only traveling with the right amount for personal use.

        To help further protect yourself, if you do have a medical license, I would leave a copy of the paper work in whatever bag you decide to carry weed in. Keep in mind that TSA also scans your checked luggage with an x-ray so trying to be sneaky is not the smartest thing to do in today’s climate!

     If you decide to simply keep your weed at home check out our article on how to store it properly HERE. If you have any questions about traveling with your weed grinder that we didn’t address in the article (we will respond as soon as we can), or have a story about traveling with your stash please comment below!

How To Grind Weed Without A Grinder

      A big question for those just starting to smoke weed, is how to grind weed without access to a grinder. Thankfully there are several methods you can perform with common household items.  Below is a list of our favorites. We saved the best for last.

4 Ways To Grind Weed Without A Grinder

1. By hand, ripping your weed nugs apart, until you have small buds. It won’t get you a fine grind, but you make due with what you have.

2. Chop the weed with a sharp knife and cutting board or using a key.

3. If you are in the kitchen, you can always use a cheese graters or coffee grinders (But we don’t recommend it, and see why below).

4. Our favorite is to take a quarter and put it in a paper cup. Then take the desired amount of weed nugs and place it in the cup with the quarter. Finally, cover it and make sure to shake it in a circular motion. Do this for a few minutes, checking the consistency of the bud every now and then to make sure it’s grinding down to exactly where you want it. Keep shaking in a circular motion until you achieve the level of grind you want.

       Check out this one below if you are new to grinders. It is basic and has a place to store your bud.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!!

      Remember anything you use to help you in this process will not only get sticky, but will also smell like weed. Due to this, try to avoid using anything that’s important to your daily routine or valuable. Cheese graters and coffee grinders are particularly hard to clean, so use them at your own risk. In the end, you are way better off using a dedicated weed grinder, but hey sometimes you have to improvise.

       If you are looking for a new grinder, check out some of our “Best Of ” weed grinders which suit your needs here HERE.

      Have any tips or tricks you would like to let the community know or have any questions concerning grinding weed without a grinder, please comment below. We will respond as quick as we can.

Keeping It Clean And Green

        If you are like me and use your grinder a lot, you will have to clean it sooner rather than later. As you grind the weed, not all the kief will make it to the bottom and some will gum up the upper compartments which makes it very difficult to rotate and grind. Depending on how much kief is stuck in the teeth and the kief catcher, I like to use a combination of salt, isopropyl alcohol, and freezing the grinder itself. 

4 Easy Steps To Clean A Weed Grinder

 1. Take a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and salt and dip a hard brush, like a toothbrush

2. Scrub the lid, grinding section and kief catcher to the desired level of cleanness

3. For hard to remove bits of kief, put your grinder in the freezer for an hour or two

4. Once they become more solid, take your toothbrush and repeat the scrubbing process. (You should have an easier time removing the kief once it’s been frozen.)

           If you are using a cheaper plastic grinder, once it reaches the point of being too sticky to turn, it may be smarter to replace the grinder with a new one instead, over going through the painstaking process of cleaning it.

Check out our list of favorite grinders HERE. We have them broken out by type for your convenience and a list of the “Best of The Best” HERE. The one below is just one of the great grinders which made the lists.

       If you have any additional tips you would like the community to know, or have any questions please comment below. We will respond as quick as possible!

The Ins And Outs Of Using A Weed Grinder      

      When looking into weed grinders a very basic but very important question is “How to use a weed grinder”. In this article we will go over the “how to” basics of using a manual weed grinder. A grinder allows a user to break down cannabis nugs into fine pieces which makes for a more consistent burn. This then yields a more pleasant smoking experience. They are typically used when smoking a joint, blunt, or bong.

 4 Sections Of A Weed Grinder

        The first major item we will go over is the anatomy of a grinder. The most basic form is one that includes 4 different parts. While three and five piece grinders do exist, today we shall be focusing on the 4 piece grinder(See picture below).

1. Lid

2. Grinding Section

3. Grind Storage

4. Kief Catcher

       The lid is what you turn to help grind up the nugs, and works in tandem with the grinding section to help break down the weed. The grinder section, like the lid, includes teeth, but also small holes which allows the finely grinded nugs to fall down into the storage section.

       This leads us to the storage section and kief catcher. The storage section is what holds all the weed after grinding. What separates it and a kief catcher is a fine mesh screen that allows the kief to fall into the bottom final chamber. Without the separation of the storage chamber and the kief catcher a grinder can become very sticky in no time at all. 

How to use a weed grinder

       Now that you know the anatomy of a grinder, we can discuss how you operate it to achieve a great grind.

1. Take 3 to 5 buds of weed, depending on the diameter of your grinder, and place them into the grinder section. Make sure they are snug between the teeth around the outer perimeter of the grinding section. Note: Take this time to make sure you have removed any stems or seeds from your nugs.

2. Once you have done this, place the lid on top.

3. Rotate the lid around 10-20 times until you get a nice fine grind. At first you will feel some resistance while turning the lid, this is normal. Note: If it’s impossible to turn it, you have over packed the grinder and need to remove some material.

4. Once twisting is smooth and easy, feel free to check the storage section and the kief catcher to use your material for smoking.

      Don’t worry about using it all at once, you can keep leftover product in the storage chamber and kief catcher for a later date.

      If you are thinking of picking up a new weed grinder, please check out our  Best of list of grinders by type HERE. There is everything from manual to novelty ones and our list of overall “Best of the best.”

This is one of my favorite grinders:

How To Grind Weed Without A Grinder

      If you currently don’t have a grinder with you, we understand your dilemma, and decided to include how to grind weed WITHOUT a grinder. (You can check out the full “How To” article HERE)

     Below are some of our favorites that you can do with some basic home items.

1. Hand ripping the nugs apart until you have small buds. 

2. Chopping the weed with either a sharp knife and cutting board or using a key.

3. Use a cheese graters or coffee grinders, although I really don’t like this method. Keep reading to learn why.

4. I think the best is to take a quarter and putting it in a paper cup. Then I take the desired amount of weed nugs and place it in the cup with the quarter. Finally, you cover it and make sure to shake it in a circular motion. I do this for a few minutes, checking the consistency of the bud every now and then to make sure it’s grinding down to exactly where I want it. Keep shaking in a circular motion until you achieve the level of grind you want.

     A very important part to remember is anything you use to help you in this process will not only get sticky, but will also smell like weed. Due to this, try to avoid using anything that’s important to your daily routine or valuable. Cheese graters and coffee grinders are particularly hard to clean, so use them at your own risk. 

     If you’re still confused about the ins and outs of using a grinder please comment below and one of our experts will respond as quick as they can. Also, we’ve included this video explanation to aid you in your quest to learn how to use these tools. 

4 Important Steps To Storing Weed

1.  Keep it cool

2. Keep it in the dark

3. Keep it moisture-free

4. Keep the container clean

       Whether you’re on a budget or you just recently purchased high-quality marijuana, knowing how to properly store your weed is a must to maintain quality and shelf life. You may ask, “Does how I store my weed really matter?” If you want your weed to last, you can’t just put it in a sandwich baggie and call it a day!

       When a flower comes in contact with too much air it is at high risk of reducing its overall potency and quality of the flower. If you store it correctly though, it will remain potent, aromatic, and fluffy for a while. There are 4 main things to think of when properly storing your weed.

      Now that you are aware of the 4 major actions needed to be taken in order to storing weed properly, let’s go over what each of them means, and the best way to achieve these conditions.

1. TEMPERATURE

      When it comes to temperature, you want to keep it cool, but not cold. This can cause trichomes to burst which can result in a loss of potency. If you keep it too warm, you will cause the cannabis to dry out and terpenes to evaporate. Therefore, the best solution is to keep it in a cool dry place, like a drawer or closet.

2. LIGHT

      The next major thing is to be aware of light exposure. Just like how too much sunlight can ruin the coloring of your favorite t-shirt, UV light can break down important cannabinoids and terpenes. (Check out our article about how Terpenes benefit you.) You never want to leave cured bud outside in the light, so always look for dark places or use a dark container to ensure your weed will not experience direct sunlight exposure.

 This is one of our favorite grinders which includes a storage section to keep your weed nice a fresh:

3. MOISTURE LEVEL

       You never want to have your flower come in contact with moisture. This can cause moldy weed. Like with the temperature control, you don’t want your flower to get too dry, as it can cause the terpenes to evaporate. The ideal humidity levels are between 59% and 63% to maintain a healthy level of stickiness with your flower. While the refrigerator might seem like a great place to store your flower, the changes in temperature and humidity from opening and shutting the door can create a higher risk of mold.

4. CLEAN CONTAINER

       Our final major step is to make sure any container you are using is clean. Dirt bacteria and grime can ruin the quality of your bud, and also make it so you are inhaling unhealthy particles. In the worst-case scenario, your container could even have mold spores which are the last thing you want to be smoking, even in small amounts. Make sure you thoroughly clean any container, even between storing different types of buds, to ensure you have a safe clean place to store it.

       Now that we’ve gone over the best procedures to storing your weed, you may be asking how you deal with storing other forms of cannabis, like edibles and waxes. Thankfully these products tend to come with their own detailed instructions on the packaging, so make sure you read the labels and follow their instructions to the best of your ability.

       If you have any tricks or tips concerning storing your weed for the community, or have a question please comment below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.