Drying weed - is darkness important?

Basic Growing Info
#61

I find it gets me higher if it’s dried under a strobe light.

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#62

@DesertGrown
… so what are the other 2 things?
:slight_smile:

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#63

Light, temperature, and oxygen.

No one is disputing that light, particularly UV, will degrade cannabinoids. This is about drying and whether darkness important during that time. Rate of decomposition contributes to the “importance” aspect.

Decomposition being one possible negative along with other theories about light interaction with fresh plant matter. One could possibly extrapolate the rate from studies regarding long-term storage. I’d imagine less than a percentage point over, say, a two week dry period when speaking of just light exposure.

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#64

My phone had other plans as I was trying to finish my thoughts in my post.I finished it a minute ago.

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#65

Yeah, typing complicated replies via a phone is quite a feat of determination.

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#66

Wow killed my computer. … down to using my phone now.

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#67

I know it is all theory, but if we don’t chop and the plant is still exposed to light cycle, the cloudy trichomes degrade to amber ones, so to say that THC degrades to CBN, loosing it’s potential.

That process doesn’t stop when we chop it and hang to dry, so guess it would increase when also receiving light.

My lack of knowledge and experience makes me search for all the helpfull information, and in this case all the fonts clearly recommend to hang and dry in dark or shaded areas … :sunglasses:

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#68

Here is a storage example.

Stored at room temperature, in glass jars, exposure to ambient light. We might assume oxidation is limited being in sealed containers but does have light exposure (room lighting).

Start:

After 12 months:

We see what amounts to decarb but, surprisingly, minimal degradation to CBN (requiring oxidation) or other cannabinoids in this storage condition. The calculated potency between the two samples actually increased possibly due to the particular sample or the conversion of CBGa to THCa / THC.

Now, if we go back to the referenced study from 1976 (10.1111/j.2042-7158.1976.tb04014.x), they state the following:

Exposure to light (not direct sunlight) was shown to be the greatest single factos in loss of cannabinoids especially in solutions

Highlighted “solutions” as this is where they saw the greatest decomposition. Be aware of this as to not confuse the various numbers that they provide.

Also note:

We have already referred to the fact that decomposition of THC in the light does not lead to an increase of CBN, although the latter is not markedly unstable in the light (Table 1, sample 5, and Fig. 1).

For the worst case example of herbal cannabis, in table 2, after 98 weeks room temperature, they claim a whopping 63% reduction in THC. Assuming a linear relationship with time, that is equivalent to 0.6% per week.

Other samples, table 3, show degradation of around 30% after 12 months of light exposure. Likewise, this would be equivalent to 0.6% per week.

Interestingly, the authors do not explain the composition or intensity of the light. Rather, they just mention “not direct sunlight”.

Now, are those results important enough to worry about for drying?

I don’t know. Maybe?

Here is a sample after being dried (~10 days) in a greenhouse (fall sunlight through glazing):

With sufficient time and space, I too would opt toward a dark area. Although, personally, I don’t find those numbers to be significant enough to get overly concerned about as long as the temperature of the area (and the plant matter) does not increase significantly.

edit: I’d be more concerned with terpene evaporation due to temperature variation than a reduction in potency due to light.

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#69

This study is missing the “dark area” data for comparison to no light at all.
Without the “dark area” to compare you can’t conclude that degradation is due to light, or natural decarboxylation…

So a possible additional element is simply “time”…

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#70

ok, let me grab my parka for the shit-storm of correcting my erroneous thinking… :poop: :cloud_rain: :sweat_smile:

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#71

No the study referenced (1976) does include “dark” information.

For the worst case sample:

image.png1131×241 19.1 KB

As to the test data I have, I’m not making a conclusion. That test data was not testing for the difference between light versus dark because I wasn’t looking for that. But the conditions are known and light existed. It does illustrate that the OMG it’ll all degrade to nothing because “light” is simply not the case.

As per “erroneous” thinking, there is no such thing here. The question “is it important” is going to differ from person to person. We know light, temperature, oxygen affect the product. Minimizing these things can improve the results. But, is it really worth the time/cost/effort during drying such that it becomes an elevated concern. That’s all.

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#72

Init…plus 20 character s

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#73

IME, my stored weed is in air-tight containers in a cool, dark place.
I have some that’s aged for a couple of years, and it seems to be getting smoother with time.

My own cross of GG4 x CBD Blue Shark was not too good when I first cured it, but going back to it a couple of years later it’s improved a lot in flavor and effect… :yum:

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#74

Most likely already covered and addressed…
It’s safe to say… for the 10 to 14 days of hanging plants to “dry”…
it won’t matter if they’re exposed to a little light - - but best to avoid intense light or sunlight.
Then cure them in a cool, dark place…
it’s all good… :grinning:

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#75

Thanks @Northern_Loki, I think this latest post is a conclusion we can all accept (hope so :sweat_smile: ), cheers …

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#76

Yes. :tada: We agree on something George

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#77

Maybe I should change my mind … :grin:

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#78

Looks like I rambled on about the three things that degrade cannabis, instead of “why” darkness is important when drying.
I’m an old stoner who is normally stoned and tend to ramble on at times… my apologies to everyone.

There are two reasons that I know about as to why darkness is important when drying cannabis.

The first reason has already been covered… light degrades cannabis.

The second reason is photosynthesis.
When you harvest your cannabis it is still alive and will try to stay green and alive to finish turning light into energy. This can mess with your THC percentages, therefore, darkness is needed to stop the photosynthesis from happening after harvest.

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#79

I dry in a mostly dark cabinet.

regards,

mike28086

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#80

I do not have empirical data - but recently I listened to a podcast where Frenchy Cannoli had stated that ther was minimal to no degradation of THC in Amber trichs.

Just .02 to consider

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