What he said. I too live in a very dry climate and I hang the whole thing. I "rough trim" but leave most of the leaves and let it dry like that. Once dry I jar them which usually snaps back some moisture, I watch the buds to make sure they don't over dry and if they dry quicker than I expect I jar early.
Taking the leaves off and sitting them on the floor will still increase the time. The more water vapors in the air, the longer it takes to dry the buds.
I shuck them off because I don't want garbage downgrading my sugar leaves.