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How-To: Curing Your Medicine

A spilled over jar shook out a perfectly cured but of cannabis.

Cannabis

How-To: Curing Your Medicine

Photos Gracie Malley for Cannabis Now

How-To: Curing Your Medicine

An excerpt from “Secrets of the West Coast Masters: Uncover the Ultimate Techniques for Growing Medical Marijuana” by Dru West.

There is a widespread misconception about what curing really is and exactly how it is done. To understand this process you must first understand what it is you are trying to do. Curing is the process of extracting chlorophyll from the buds. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color and is an important factor for photosynthesis, since its function is to absorb light and turn it into energy. It does not, however, taste good. After marijuana has been harvested and dried, microorganisms in the air will begin to break down the unnecessary chlorophyll as time goes by. The by-product of this process is ammonia, which explains why bags of grass clippings from the lawn take on that smell after they sit in the garage for a while. To cure your buds is to extract the ammonia-producing chlorophyll. This can be done in a controlled fashion by containing your buds in airtight glass jars. This will accelerate the rate of the curing process by trapping the multiplying microorganisms inside the jars. Follow these steps for reliable results every time.

A green jar full of green is in the middle of the curing process.

1. Loosely fill the jars with your buds and seal the lids.

2. Place them in a dark, cool place like a closet or a cupboard.

3. Allow the jars to sit undisturbed for five days.

4. Then open the jars and let them air out for a couple hours. You should begin to detect hints of ammonia.

5. Allow the jars to sit undisturbed again for one week then repeat Step 4.

6. Keep repeating steps 4 and 5 until you can no longer detect any traces of ammonia. This is the point in which your buds are properly cured and ready to be used as potent medicine. Enjoy your medicine! If you have followed these directions to the letter, you should now have in your possession one of the finest gifts Mother Nature has to offer.

Originally published in Issue 16 of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE

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