Tuesday April 19, 2022
By Erin Hiatt

It never fails. The supply of weed that was supposed to last all pay-period inevitably disappears long before payday. Rather than scrape bowls for resin or dip into your food funds, we’ve come up with a few creative ways to extend the lifespan of your weed supply. These stash-stretching tips will help you conserve your cannabis for longer and ultimately increase the amount of time between pick-ups. Feel free to use these tips as-is or apply and adapt them to your own consumption habits. Whatever you do, have fun with it and try your best to stay on track if your goal is to get a few more days out of your stash!
Follow Dosing Instructions
All forms of cannabis come with suggested dosing instructions: 10 mg of cannabinoids for edibles, a single hit of concentrates, and one to two hits for flower. If, after a few minutes (or hours in the case of edibles) your expected high has not been reached, it's okay to take a second dose. Unless you’ve eaten a weed-infused cookie or savory edible – you may be surprised to find that a few minutes is all it takes.
Carefully Select Your Smoking Device
Joints and blunts are a great way to share weed, but that’s certainly no way to conserve weed. If you really want your weed to last, pack your green into a small pinch hitter or dugout. Better yet, invest in a multi-purpose vaporizer pen for a cleaner, more potent hit every time.
Consume Edibles
The effects of eating marijuana are often more pronounced than smoking it. Though it typically takes much longer to feel its effects, once marijuana is digested into the bloodstream, the accompanying high may last for 2-6 hours, thus greatly reducing the desire to consume more.
Experiment With Concentrates
Marijuana concentrates are made by extracting cannabinoids like THC and CBD from the cannabis plant, resulting in a significantly more potent product. By using concentrates – either instead of, or in addition to, flower – you can reduce the amount of product needed to reach your desired effect and make your weed last longer.
Use a Grinder
Using a grinder to break up buds will reduce the amount of trichomes lost to sticky fingers. Though the grinder will, no doubt, need a good cleaning now and then, that can easily be accomplished by using ISO and enough time to let the alcohol evaporate.
Shotgun Your Hit
Make a single hit last longer by sharing it with a partner. To perform a “marijuana shotgun” or “shotgun kiss,” pass a single hit of weed between you and your partner by blowing the smoke directly into his/her/their mouth then allow him/her/them to do the same to you. This is a great one for all of the lovebirds out there!
Distract Yourself
For those who feel compelled to toke with the rising sun, consider starting the day with a distraction instead. Go for a hike, plan a trip, or start a new project, just hold off on packing the bowl or rolling the joint!
Budget Your Weed
In the same way you might budget your paycheck, consider budgeting your weed. You can do this by purchasing a large quantity at once, then setting aside only what you will need for the week, day, or outing. The trick is, of course, to refrain from digging into your reserve stash until the appointed time.
Request Friends Contribute to a Smoking Session
Marijuana can bring friends closer together, but may also bring the moochers or the infrequent consumers out of their corners, too. When friends who invite themselves over for a smoke session “accidentally” leave their own at home, it may be time to respectfully decline their next invitation - unless they’re willing to contribute, too.
Take a T-Break
If you’ve found that it takes more and more just to achieve the desired high, it may be time to take a break from the ganja for a while, or go on a t-break. Depending on how often you consume and other variables, readjusting your weed tolerance could take up to a few months.
Consider Strain Options
Some strains are naturally more potent, meaning that you need less to achieve the desired effect, while others are less potent and may be more affordable. Depending on what your goals are, find a strain that delivers what you’re looking for.
Grow Your Own
For those who would rather not sacrifice the quantity of cannabis they consume, growing weed at home might be a better option - but be sure to check your state laws to see how many plants (and if!) you’re allowed to grow per household. As long as proper growing restrictions are met, home growers should be able to produce ample weed for relatively little green in the long run.
Store It Properly
If you store your weed properly cannabinoids may remain stable for up to two years, depending on the kind of product. Edibles have the shortest shelf life, but a capsule or tincture may last for a very long time indeed. So do yourself a favor, make a small investment in air tight (mason) jars and watch your weed last way longer.
Nothing is quite as sad as that last little nug in what was once a fat sack of weed, but as we’ve seen, there are a lot of ways to conserve weed.
What do you do to conserve your weed? We’d love to hear about it!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock