jason-crawford

Medically Reviewed by
Jason Crawford

Article Last Updated on January 17, 2023

Everyone knows that the best weed has just enough moisture content to keep the cannabinoids and terpenes thriving and producing the best effects. Well-hydrated buds have an overall better flavor and aroma, and they burn at an even pace, too.

On the other hand, dry weed is unpleasant to smoke – it’s harsh on the throat and not very flavorful, plus it burns much faster, and not to mention the lost THC and CBD content due to it burning at such a high temperature.

If you’ve ever found yourself with a baggie of dry buds and didn’t know if it was usable, we’re here to tell you that it is. It’s possible to rehydrate the buds and improve their flavor and aroma, so in this article, we’ll give you a number of tips on how to do that.

Can Dry Cannabis Be Rehydrated? 

When you hold dry, crumbly cannabis buds in your hands, you might think it’s a lost cause and have to smoke it bone dry, but you don’t have to. You can put moisture back into the weed by using a moisturizing agent. While it won’t change the cannabinoid content or the potency, it’ll greatly improve the flavor and your smoking experience.

The science is simple enough – dry buds need a source of moisture to rehydrate themselves. When you put dry buds and an object with high water content in a container together, the water molecules travel from one to the other. Leave them be for a few hours, and the buds will be much perkier.

A Few DIY Tricks to Rehydrate Weed and Even Improve Its Taste

Adding moisture back to dry buds is easy, but you’ll need to be careful of not letting them get too moist, or else they’ll be unusable or even develop mold. Remember to use the rehydrated buds within 24 hours for best results because otherwise the flavor may alter or they may get dry again, in which case another round of rehydration is not advisable as it increases the risk of mold. 

With that said, let’s see what you can do to revive those nugs.

The Flavorless Methods

So, we said that in order to rehydrate weed you need to use a moisturizing agent from which some of the moisture can be transferred to the dry buds to revive them. There are many items you can use, but in the weed community, some tried and tested ways have stuck over the years. 

If you don’t want to change the aroma and flavor of the dry buds, you can try the following:

  1. Use a lettuce leaf. Lettuce is a wonderful moisturizing agent because it contains 96% water. It doesn’t have any pronounced flavor so you can rest assured that the aroma of your buds will remain unchanged. Just toss a lettuce leaf and the buds together in a container and give it an hour or two, depending on the dryness, and don’t forget to check on it every 15 minutes or so;
  2. Using a slice of bread may sound a bit weird, but it can work wonders if you have nothing else on hand. Bread holds moisture well and its taste is mild, so it’s a good choice for rehydrating weed. All you have to do is moisten the bread (it shouldn’t be wet!) and put it in the same container with the buds. However, since bread has yeast in it, make sure it doesn’t touch the buds;
  3. Another popular way of adding moisture back to dry weed is using a moistened paper towel. Most users recommend using distilled water for this as it’s been purified. All you need to do is moisten the paper towel (again, make sure it’s not wet), and place it in a container together with the buds (without touching each other). An even simpler way is to stretch it on top of the opening of a glass jar (with the buds in it) and then seal the lid;
  4. Finally, you can make a DIY humidifier with a moist cotton ball wrapped in aluminum foil. Just moisten the cotton ball and wrap it in aluminum foil, and then poke tiny little holes around it so that the moisture can escape. It doesn’t matter if the aluminum ball touches the nugs or not as they won’t be in direct contact with the moisture.

The Flavor-Adding Methods

If you don’t mind using a moisturizing agent that’ll impart your dry buds with an additional flavor and aroma, you can use fruit peels or herbs. This works really well for reggie weed (because we all know how harsh it tastes), as well as weed that’s very dry and has lost all its flavor.

  1. Using a citrus peel, such as orange peel or lemon peel, is an ancient way of reviving dry buds. Citrus fruits contain many of the same terpenes as a lot of cannabis strains so they’re a great combo. Simply throw a strip or two of citrus peel in a glass jar together with the dry weed and give it a few hours. Depending on the dryness of the buds, the process could take from a couple of hours to a full day, so you should check on the buds often. If they look fluffier, they’re ready to be smoked;
  2. Banana peels are also a common moisturizing agent though not as popular as citrus peels, but still very effective. They have a much higher moisture level than citrus peels, so it’ll take a lot less time. To avoid ruining the buds, check on the progress every 15-20 minutes – they should be done in more or less an hour;
  3. Finally, fresh herbs can also be effective for rehydrating weed. Mint, in particular, is a popular choice because its freshness goes well with any strain, but you can use any other fragrant edible herb that you like. 

Fight Fire With Fire

Dry cannabis buds can also be rehydrated with fresh cannabis buds. Pretty logical, right? Sure, some weed connoisseurs don’t want to mix their strains, but in a situation like this, it’s really not a big deal, and it’s only for a few hours. 

Fresh buds can enhance the cannabis flavor of your dry buds instead of imparting it with a fruity aroma or no aroma, so why not try it? Just put some of the fresh weed with the dry weed and let them hang out for a while.

The Quick-But-Risky Solution

Here’s one solution that’ll rehydrate your nugs in a jiffy, but it involves boiling water and it’s a little risky as it might ruin them if you’re not careful.

What you should do is boil water in a small pot and remove it from the heat once it has boiled. Place a damp towel or cloth over it and secure it with laundry pegs. The nugs should go on top where the steam will moisten them. 

You only need to leave them 30 minutes tops, but we say check on the weed after about 10-15 minutes. If you let it sit too long, it’ll get limp and unsmokeable, so consider yourself warned.

Store-Bought Cannabis Humidifiers

If none of the DIY tricks are appealing to you or you’d rather try something a bit more specialized, you can try using cannabis humidifiers. There are many brands that make these, although the Boveda packs seem to be the most popular in the community. Growers use Boveda packs during the curing process to maintain the relative humidity levels and keep weed from getting moldy or too dry, but they’re equally good for rehydrating weed.

Prevent Your Cannabis Flowers From Overdrying by Storing Them Properly

The best way to avoid going through this whole process is to avoid letting your weed overdry in the first place. Of course, sometimes even the best of us have probably forgotten about a baggie somewhere, plus, not all dispensaries store their weed properly all the time. So, just in case, we want to briefly remind you of the basics of proper weed storage.

It’s plain and simple: you should store weed in an airtight container away from light, heat, and moisture. Or in other words, keep it in a cool, dark, and dry place because light degrades the cannabinoids and terpenes, and excess moisture creates mold.

You can use the Boveda packs mentioned earlier for storing weed as they will maintain the perfect relative humidity levels for the nugs. As for a storage container, a lot of weed users like mason jars because their sealing mechanism is pretty tight (but you can use any other jar as long as it’s airtight).

Alternatively, you can use cannabis humidors. They’re similar to tobacco humidors, but they’re designed specifically for cannabis because cannabis and tobacco need different moisture levels.

The Takeaway – If You Can, Prevent, If You Can’t, Rehydrate

Preventing your buds from getting too dry is the best way to keep all your stash in great shape, but in times when you can’t help it, there are so many ways to rehydrate dry buds. If the weed is particularly harsh and dry, citrus peels might be a good solution to perk up the aroma and flavor, but if you’d rather not change it, you can use anything from bread to lettuce to cotton balls. Do whatever works since you can’t stop toking just because of some dry weed, right?

A passionate advocate for the benefits of cannabis. Fraser Horton, who has a background in botany and a strong love of nature, has spent years researching how cannabis affects the body and mind. He established Leaf Nation in 2020, where he has devoted himself to educating people about the legalisation of marijuana and its safe and responsible use. Fraser is committed to highlighting cannabis’ potential for improving wellness and working to dispel the stigma associated with its use.

Disclaimer

The information presented on this page is provided as a public service to aid in education and is derived from sources believed to be reliable. Readers are responsible for making their own assessment of the topics discussed here. In no event shall Leaf Nation be held reliable for any injury, loss or damage that could happen if using or abusing drugs.