Do Dabs Go Bad? – Everything You Need To Know

Dabbing has become an important part of the cannabis culture, its popularity has grown exponentially over the last couple of years and I’m sure you already know about it.

In fact, you may have already gone through a situation where out of nowhere you find on the living room couch or in your pocket some extra gram of dabs and you wonder: Do dabs go bad? Can I smoke it?

In this article, you will find everything you need to know about old dabs, whether they pose any threat to your health, and whether it is a good idea to smoke them or not.

What Are Dabs?

You may know them by other names, in some other parts of the country they are commonly known as wax, honeycomb, or budder. They are butane hash oil concentrates with extremely high levels of THC.

In fact, according to research by experts in the field, dab is said to be at least four times stronger than any marijuana joint.

This will undoubtedly provide you with a super intense high almost immediately. So we recommend that this is not your first encounter with the benefits of cannabis!

Dabs are produced by a complex chemical process in which butane oil is used to extract the cannabis oils and leave as a result a gummy, somewhat solid product containing high amounts of THC.

Do Dabs Go Bad?

While cannabis concentrates do not spoil in such a way as to make you sick, they usually have a shelf life where their effects and properties are just right.

Over time the dabs begin to degrade just as marijuana flower would. The cannabinoids begin to change, causing the tempers to begin to evaporate and converting their amounts of THC into CBN, which despite not providing a good high, is proven to help with sleep.

But don’t worry, once the dabs are crystallized, their THC levels are quite stable as long as they are protected from light and stored in a container that does not allow contact with air, they can last up to 6 months.

How Do You Know if a Dabs go bad?

You will be able to tell very easily when your dabs are spoiled. The vast majority of the concentrates are usually a golden yellow or honey color when fresh, once they begin to degrade you will notice that their tones begin to change to a rust or dark brown color.

If you find it very difficult to notice because of the color of the concentrate, don’t worry, you will definitely feel the difference when you consume it and feel a lack of flavor or potency.

The Best Way to Preserve Dabs

Let’s be totally realistic, everything is much better when it’s fresh, from the weed you smoke to the marijuana edibles that have become so popular in recent years.

When it comes to dabs, you have about 6 months to enjoy them at their peak of freshness, after that period of time the concentrate will begin its nucleation process.

However, there are a couple of things you can do to slow down the degradation process and make your dabs last a little longer than usual.

• It is crucial to keep your dabs in a cool, dark area.
• Avoid excessive temperature and humidity variations.
• You can make use of cannabis humidifiers.
• If you have the possibility, keep your concentrates in a vacuum-sealed bag.

If you live in humid and very hot environments, you can make use of a refrigerator to keep your concentrates in a cool and dark place.

But keep in mind that there is extra care you should take to prevent low temperatures from negatively affecting your dabs.

If Dabs Go Bad Can I Still Smoke It?

While it is true that there are some types of concentrates that improve in quality, flavor, and potency over time, the vast majority of those that exist do not.

It is estimated that concentrates usually lose about 40% of their potency after a year, which from another point of view means that they still contain 60% of their full potency.

This could still give you a very good high, but thanks to the presence of CBN, it will be without a doubt the most sedative high you will ever experience.

Either way, consuming aged dabs is not the best idea because over time lipids begin to appear in your marijuana concentrates, which are extremely bad for the lungs and could make you very sick.

So sometimes it is best to follow the advice of elders and when in doubt the best (and clearly painful) thing to do is to flush your dabs down the toilet.

With so many good quality dabs for sale, it is not worth risking your physical health to save a couple of bucks!

Conclusion

If you are a regular user of dabs, consider very well the storage options mentioned above and do your best to avoid contact of your concentrates with light, air, and heat.

Now you know very well that dabs have a shelf life and you can recognize when dabs go bad, so you can avoid smoking those old concentrates that put your health at risk.

Now, if you plan to use 100% of the product within the six-month shelf life, you can smoke it and enjoy it as much as you want!