Edibles are a great way to add variety to your marijuana use, especially if you want to avoid the health risks associated with smoking weed or vaping, and cannabis brownies are some of the most popular ones. Whether you buy them from a dispensary or have a tried-and-tested homemade recipe, you might be wondering: How long are brownies good for before they go bad?
If weed brownies are your go-to cannabis edibles but you often end up throwing some away for fear they have gone bad, keep reading to find out more about their shelf life, and how to properly store them.
Do All Marijuana Edibles Go Bad?
The explicitly short answer to this question is – yes. All marijuana edibles go bad. And the reason behind this is because they behave just like any other food products. The only difference is that they have been infused with an ingredient that gives them special properties, but that doesn’t take away the fact that they’re still a type of food, made to be eaten and digested in the body.
This isn’t a bad thing, though. This means that you should treat edibles just like you treat any other food – eating them while they’re good. Of course, some cannabis products have a longer shelf life, like gummies, lollipops, and hard candies, but even they have an expiration date printed on their package. That said, you should avoid eating expired edibles just like you would avoid eating expired chocolate.
Do Edibles Lose Their Potency Over Time?
You might also be wondering about the cannabinoids THC and CBD present in weed edibles and how they behave over time. Well, it mostly depends on the way they’re infused in the goodies. For store edibles, cannabis oil is used for the infusion. Because this oil is very thick, in order to be successfully infused in the goodies, it’s essential that it’s properly emulsified, otherwise, it might start to separate over time and leave an oily residue.
On the other hand, properly emulsified cannabis oil makes for very durable cannabinoid content that may stay stable for up six months to even a year without much change. The only change that can happen is for the THC to lose only some of its potency, but not all of it.
But even though weed goodies don’t lose their potency, they may still become spoiled after a certain amount of time. For example, cannabutter (weed butter) is just regular dairy butter infused with weed, and if you leave it out for too long, it will go bad and become inedible, regardless of its potency.
How Long Do Weed Brownies Last
The regular pot brownies usually contain dairy and eggs, making them susceptible to spoiling if stored improperly. If your own edibles don’t last in your house for longer than a few days, then you won’t need to worry about them going bad. However, if you often have a lot of leftovers that you want to save, it’s best to know how long they last.
At Room Temperature
At room temperature, edible brownies usually last for up to a week tops. Store-bought ones will usually have a best before date on their package, giving you a rough idea of how long they’ll stay fresh. However, homemade goods are less durable and will maybe last for 4-5 days at best on the countertop.
In the Fridge
Cooler temperatures keep baked goods fresher for longer, including weed brownies. If you need them to stay good for eating for a couple of weeks, the fridge is your best bet. If you store them in a robust container, they can last you for up to a month.
In the Freezer
For long-term storage, the freezer is the winner. It’ll keep them as fresh as you’ve bought them, with the cannabinoid content possibly intact, or with very little change. This is a good solution if you like to make or buy bigger batches. When you need a piece, take one out and let it thaw at room temperature, as you would do with regular brownies.
How to Tell if Weed Brownies Have Gone Bad
You may have faced this dilemma at least a couple of times – you found a leftover brownie that looks good, but some time has passed and you’re not sure if you should have it. Common sense usually helps, but if you’re really unsure, here are some tell-tale signs your brownies have gone bad, depending on how you store them:
- Room temperature brownies will likely have developed green spots, which is mold. You can also use the smell test to check if they give off any unusual odor;
- Fridge brownies can also develop mold, but not as quickly. They may also appear very dry and crumbly;
- Freezer brownies will develop freezer burn, which is ice crystals around the brownies due to moisture loss. In this case, the cannabinoid content has likely suffered some changes.
How to Keep Weed Brownies Fresh for Longer
The basic rules for storing brownies are more or less the same as storing regular brownies, but the trick here is that weed brownies won’t get eaten as quickly as regular brownies because edibles aren’t consumed in large quantities. Therefore, taking some extra steps to prolong the shelf life of your weed brownies is always a plus. Here’s what else you can do:
- Keep them away from heat as often as possible. This means that storing them in the fridge or freezer is your best bet. Never leave them out at room temperature for longer than necessary. Of course, this doesn’t apply when you have a whole batch and expect guests coming over, because your brownies will probably be gone in good time;
- Store them in a dark airtight container. Light can degrade the cannabinoid content, or at least affect it, so it’s better to save your clear containers for other food leftovers and use something else to store weed brownies;
- Keep them away from moisture. It may put them in danger of developing mold, which is such a turn-off. For extra caution, you can put a piece of napkin to soak the excess moisture and prevent them from becoming moldy;
- Be careful of bacteria. If you want to have a little piece of the brownies, don’t bite on it directly and put it back, but use a knife or fork to take out the piece, otherwise, you’ll expose it to bacteria from your mouth.
Conclusion
Marijuana edibles are a convenient way to use cannabis when you don’t want to smoke or vape for health or other reasons. Weed brownies are some of the most popular edibles out there, but one common question about them is how long before they go bad?
Weed brownies behave just like any other food and their cannabinoid content doesn’t make them immune to spoiling, even though it will probably remain stable even after spoiling.
To prolong the shelf life of your weed brownies, it’s best to store them in the fridge or freezer and keep them away from light and moisture. If you notice something fishy about them or they seem to have gone bad, it’s best to not eat them.
