How to Cure Cannabis: The 3 Best Ways to Cure Weed for Better Flavor

Cured weed is marijuana that has been dried and aged to improve its flavor and potency. The curing process removes chlorophyll and other unwanted compounds while enhancing desirable compounds, such as cannabinoids and terpenes. For these reasons, many people consider cured weed to be far more valuable and enjoyable than uncured weed.

Fortunately, learning how to cure weed is super easy, and I’m here to make it even easier. I’ll share and explain the only method you need to cure cannabis, and that’s the Jar Curing method. But having options is nice, so I’ll also teach you the Paper Bag and Water Curing methods.

However, jar and paper bag curing works best and faster if you’ve already dried your buds to contain 10-15% moisture. You can learn how to dry your weed here or jump right into my tutorial on how to cure cannabis.

1. Jar Curing

Most how-to-cure-weed guides mention only jar curing. Why? Because jar curing is the easiest way to cure cannabis and get the best results. The process involves storing your dried buds in an airtight glass jar for at least one to two weeks.

While in the jar, your buds will lose more moisture, and chlorophyll, sugars, and other unwanted compounds will gradually break down. Also, curing activates cannabinoids like THCa (Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) and CBDa (Cannabidiolic acid), turning them into THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (Cannabidiol) respectively.

Lastly, jar curing gives your buds a more pronounced aroma by enhancing the terpene profile. It does this by trapping the released scents from terpenes and re-infusing them into the jarred buds.

How to Cure Weed in Glass Jars

1. Prepare Your Buds: Your buds should have no more than 10-15% moisture. Otherwise, they’ll be susceptible to mold, mildew, and bacteria during curing.
2. Prepare Your Jar: Clean and disinfect the jar to prevent cross-contamination. Remember that the jars should be glass, transparent, and have an airtight lid, like a mason jar.
3. Jar the Buds: Put your buds in the jar, but don’t fill it beyond 75-80% capacity. If you fill the jar to the brim, the buds won’t have enough room to breathe and release moisture. You can also place a hygrometer on the buds to monitor humidity levels, which shouldn’t exceed 55-65%.
4. Store the Filled Jars: Place the jarred buds in a dark, cool storage space, such as a cupboard, drawer, or closet. The storage space’s temperature shouldn’t exceed 60-70°F (15-21°C) and should shield the jars from direct sunlight. This is because UV rays and high temperatures can degrade cannabinoids.
5. Check Daily: During your first week of curing, burp the jars about thrice a day by opening them to release trapped moisture. Failing to do this can lead to mold or mildew. After the first week, you can scale back burping to once a day. If you notice mold or other infestations during your daily checks, remove the afflicted bud to curb contamination.
6. Monitor Humidity: If you keep a hygrometer in the jar with your buds, you’ll know the exact humidity levels. Humidity levels above 65% can cause mold, but you can rectify the problem by placing a Boveda pack in the jar with the weed. A Boveda or Integra pack will help stabilize humidity by absorbing excess moisture to decrease humidity. It can also release moisture if humidity is low in your curing jar.

By the second week, your buds should be sufficiently cured. At this point, your cannabis should have a sweet, earthy, or fruity aroma that indicates it’s ready to be enjoyed. However, you can cure for even longer, up to six months with the jar method. But after six months, your cannabis will start degrading, so it’s best to use your stock before then.

Pros of Jar Curing Weed

• Storage: Jar curing doubles as an effective way to store your weed for up to six months, enhancing your bud’s flavor during storage.
• Hassle-Free: The curing process isn’t complicated or tedious, which minimizes the risk of making costly mistakes.
• Best Option: If you use another curing method, you’ll likely eventually still store the buds in jars. So you might as well start with the jar and end with the jar.
• Enhances Flavor and Potency: Compared to several other curing methods, jar curing preserves the most terpenes and cannabinoids. The result is cured weed with a superb flavor and impressive potency.

Cons of Jar Curing Weed

• Takes Up Space: If you have a large batch of weed to cure, you’ll need lots of mason jars, which can take up a lot of space.
• Risk of Mold: If you don’t monitor humidity or burp the jars, mold or mildew problems are more likely to occur.

2. Paper Bag Curing

Paper bag curing involves placing your buds on the bottom of a paper bag, such as a paper grocery bag. The paper will absorb excess moisture from the buds, aiding the curing process.

Unlike jar curing, which requires your weed to be perfectly dried before curing, the paper bag method is more forgiving. Your cannabis can be partially dried (about 50%) before using this method to cure your buds. However, the wetter the cannabis buds, the longer the curing process will take.

How to Cure Weed with Paper Bags

1. Prepare Your Weed: Gather your buds and trim off excess stems. I recommend at least partially drying your buds, preferably with the air-drying method, before starting bag curing.
2. Prepare Paper Bags: You can use new paper bags or leftover paper bags from your last store run. The important thing is you use clean, uncontaminated bags. Smells or other contaminants in the bag will penetrate your buds and spoil them.
3. Load the Bags: Spread out your buds on the floor of the bag in a single layer. Spacing out the buds will prevent overcrowding and allow airflow for even drying and curing.
4. Close the Bags: Roll or fold the top of the bags once or twice to loosely close them. Not closing the bags tightly allows air to flow in and out to dry and cure your buds.
5. Store the Bags: Place the weed-filled bags in a cool, dark, dry, and well-ventilated room. Humidity in the room should be 45-55%, and you can place an oscillating fan in the room to aid airflow.
6. Daily Checks: Open the bags daily to check the contents. Flip the buds to reposition them and ensure even drying and curing. If you notice any moldy or mildewy buds, take them out to prevent the infestation from spreading.
7. Test: After one week of paper bag curing, gently squeeze the buds to test for dryness and brittleness. If the buds feel moist during the squeeze test, continue bag curing, checking on your buds daily for another week. Curing is complete when the buds feel dry on the outside but not brittle and have a pleasant aroma (unlike hay or grass).
8. Storage: Once curing is complete, transfer your buds to an airtight glass jar for storage and continued curing.

Pros of Paper Bag Curing Weed

• Cost-Effective: Paper bags are cheap, making this method super affordable.
• Less Prep Work: Your weed doesn’t need to be completely dry before using this curing method.
• Simple Process: The straightforwardness of this method makes you less likely to fuck it up.

Cons of Paper Bag Curing Weed

• Humidity Control: Compared to the jar curing method, you have less control over humidity with the paper bag method.
• Small Batches: The paper bag method is unideal if you want to cure a large batch of weed.
• Jars at the End: After curing with a paper bag, you can either use your buds immediately or store them in airtight glass jars. Or, you could just cut out the middleman and use glass jars from the start.

3. Water Curing

Unlike jar curing, which requires fully dried cannabis, and paper bag curing, which requires partially dried cannabis, water curing requires no drying whatsoever. Combine this with the fact that you can fully water-cure weed in a week, and you get a fast cannabis-curing method.

So, what is water curing?

Water-curing cannabis involves soaking and rinsing buds in clean water to remove unwanted compounds before air drying to get rid of excess moisture. The process enhances the weed’s potency and delivers a clean and enjoyable smoking experience.

However, alongside unwanted compounds, water curing washes out desirable terpenes and flavonoids, leaving you with buds that seem tasteless and scentless. This isn’t an issue if you don’t like a strong marijuana flavor. But if you want the robust scent and full benefits of terpenes, you won’t like this curing method.

On the upside, water curing doesn’t damage CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids, so you still get impressive therapeutic effects. There’s no damage to cannabinoids because unlike terpenes, which are water-soluble, cannabinoids are fat-soluble and hydrophobic.

How to Cure Weed with Water Curing

1. Prepare Jars: You’ll need glass jars with airtight lids, such as the mason jars in the image above. The jars should be glass (not plastic) and clean to prevent cross-contamination.
2. Prepare Buds: Trim off excess leaves from your cannabis, leaving just the buds.
3. Load the Jars: Fill the jars with clean or distilled water that’s room temperature. Next, add your buds to the water, filling no more than 50% of the jar with cannabis.  
4. Soak Buds: Leave your buds submerged in the water for 12 hours.
5. Change the Water: Gently shake the jar after 12 hours to dislodge impurities and unwanted compounds from the buds. Drain the dirtied water and refill the jar with fresh water to again submerge the buds.
6. Rinse and Repeat: Shake the jar and change the water again after 12 hours and repeat the process over five to seven days. You’ve successfully water-cured your cannabis when the water in the jar remains clear after a 12-hour soak and shake.
7. Dry the Buds: At this point, your water-cured buds should have a firm, not soggy texture. Dry the buds by placing them on paper towels or a drying rack, and let them air dry for two to three days. Drying should occur in a ventilated room and without exposing your buds to UV rays.
8. Store: Your buds are now ready for use. You can also store them for later use in a dry, airtight glass jar like the ones you used for jar curing. The buds will continue aging inside the jar, but you must burp them at least once daily to release moisture and prevent mold growth.

Pros of Water Curing Weed

• Relatively Quick: It’s faster than curing cannabis with the jar or paper bag method, especially since you don’t need to dry your weed first.
• Cost-Effective: You can water-cure weed with resources you already have.
• Clean Taste: Water-cured weed has a neutral flavor and scent, which is ideal if you find traditional cannabis aromas overpowering.
• Healthier Buds: Water curing removes unwanted compounds and impurities, such as fertilizers, pesticides, and other phytochemicals commonly found in freshly harvested cannabis.
• Rich Cannabinoid Profile: Water curing takes less time and doesn’t damage cannabinoids, quickly giving you a final product with impressive cannabinoid levels.

Cons of Water Curing Weed

• Terpene Loss: Besides making weed flavorful, terpenes have therapeutic effects and contribute to the entourage effect. Since water curing washes out terpenes, these benefits will be less noticeable.
• Less Attractive: Water curing gives weed a dull and unattractive color. Buyers may find such dull-looking buds less desirable and valuable.

Benefits of Curing Weed

1. Increased Potency: Curing activates multiple cannabinoids to boost cannabis’s potency. For example, curing turns THCa (Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) into THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), the cannabinoid that can get you high. It also turns CBDa (Cannabidiolic acid) into CBD (Cannabidiol), the cannabinoid that can relieve stress, anxiety, and inflammation.
2. Enhanced Flavor: Jar curing allows terpenes to shine, leading to more flavorful and aromatic weed. If you prefer cannabis with a more neutral taste and smell, water curing can provide that by washing out terpenes.
3. Safer and More Pleasurable to Smoke: All curing methods kill off unwanted compounds, such as moisture, chlorophyll, ethylene, starch, sugars, and amino acids. Cannabis with high levels of these compounds is less flavorful and yields harsh smoke that may leave you crying, coughing, and choking. Water curing goes a step further by also washing out harmful chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, from weed farming.
4. Higher Value: Cured weed sells at a higher price than uncured weed because it’s more potent and delivers a cleaner smoking experience. You’ve also invested in enhancing the product, the same as why aged beef or alcohol have bigger flavors and price tags.
5. Increased Shelf Life: You can store properly cured weed for up to a year, but its potency will noticeably start declining after six months. Uncured weed will likely become rubbish by its second month, regardless of how well you store it. One reason for this is the higher moisture content of uncured weed can invite damaging mildew and mold growth.

What Should You Do Before Curing Weed?

Ideally, you should dry your weed before curing it. Of course, this isn’t necessary if you’ll cure your cannabis with the water-curing method.

However, if you plan to cure weed with the jar method, your cannabis’s moisture content should be 10-15%. A higher moisture content will promote mold growth in the jar, while a lower moisture content will give you lower-quality buds.

With the paper bag method, you can start curing the weed once its moisture content is about 50%. But keep in mind that the wetter the weed is, the longer paper bag curing will take.

While there are several ways to dry weed, you only need the air-drying method. Air-drying cannabis involves hanging harvested weed like laundry in a ventilated, dark room. Putting a fan in the room will speed up the drying process.

You can gather any cannabis bits that break off during drying, such as trichomes, sugar leaves, and buds, and offer them as shake weed.

Click here to learn more about How to Dry Weed.

Can You Use Weed without Curing?

Yes, but dried and cured weed is more potent and enjoyable. Drying only removes moisture and some unwanted compounds. The weed at this stage will contain enough moisture and chlorophyll to produce horrible-tasting smoke that overpowers the enjoyable flavor of terpenes. Also, the cannabinoids haven’t had a chance to distribute, mature, or activate, leading to a less potent experience.

On the other hand, cured weed has a far more superior flavor and aroma than uncured weed. It’s also more potent, with a higher THC and CBD content, and produces a smoother and more pleasurable smoke. Lastly, you can use cured cannabis in more ways than uncured weed. For instance, you can smoke, vape, eat, dab, infuse, and do much more with it.

Learn How to Dry and Cure Weed the right way here.

Are You Ready for Your First Weed Curing Project?

That’s everything you need to know about how to cure weed and store it. If you have any questions or suggestions, don’t be shy to share them in the comments. Also, check out our articles on the benefits of CBD for focus and using CBD before work. Who knows? A bit of CBD before beginning your weed-curing project may brighten the experience.

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