Greens Chairperson Maria Ohisalo has previously said that possessing small quantities of the drug should not be punishable by law/Lehtikuva
TOOLS
TYPOGRAPHY
- MEDIUM
- DEFAULT
- READING MODE
The Green League (Greens) created a stir on Sunday when it approved an initiative calling for marijuana to be decriminalised in Finland, making it the first party in the parliament to support the legalisation of the drug.
The initiative seeks to decriminalise the use, possession, manufacture and sale of marijuana, and recommends that the drug be subject to the same comprehensive regulations (including regulations on manufacture, sales and taxes) as other legal substances. It also calls for the removal of criminal convictions related to marijuana use from citizens’ personal data records.
However, Arto Satonen, an MP from the National Coalition Party, stated in a tweet that the Greens have “lost touch with reality,” citing an increase in marijuana-related accidents in Colorado, U.S.
Päivi Räsänen of the Christian Democrat Party said the proposal was “worrying,” while Riikka Purra, the new chairperson of the Finns Party, has accused the Greens of neglecting to acknowledge the high carbon footprint and environmental impact of marijuana cultivation.
The Criminal Code of Finland currently prohibits the use of marijuana. The drug was first made illegal in the 1960s; however, the law has been reformed multiple times since then. In 2019, an initiative calling for the decriminalisation of marijuana possession for personal use received the 50,000 signatures required to proceed to the parliament and is currently awaiting approval.
Tahira Sequeira
Helsinki Times