Cannabis law and industry regulatory modernization efforts are picking up momentum in Europe, with a recent example surfacing in Finland, where a group of lawmakers recently expressed support for permitting regulated cannabis sales through government-run retail outlets.

Members of Finland’s Left Alliance party officially approved a new party position that supports adult-use cannabis legalization, including sales through state-owned stores. The announcement came during the party’s recent congress gathering.

“The Left Alliance supports the legalization of cannabis use and the transfer of its sales to state-owned stores in its new target program. The party also supports allowing its small-scale cultivation. The party conference decided on the matter on Sunday.” reported Helsingin Sanomat in its local coverage (translated from Finnish to English)

“The Greens, before the Left Alliance, have included in their legal policy program for 2024 that the party wants to legalize the use, possession, manufacture and sale of cannabis.” the outlet also reported.

Cannabis is not a new thing in Finland, as demonstrated by pollen samples found in Sakinlampi in 1994 that were dated to as far back as 4,000 B.C. However, cannabis is currently prohibited in Finland outside of very limited medical cannabis use.

A researcher affiliated with the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences previously analyzed the potential economic, societal, and fiscal impacts that cannabis legalization may have on Finland. The researcher’s findings were published on the academic database Thesus. The researcher in Finland analyzed “the important aspects of the economy,” such as Finland’s GDP and unemployment rate.

“Economically, shifting the cannabis market from the unregulated black market to a regulated legal industry could stabilize Finland’s GDP as all the other countries who have done have seen a substantial increase in their GDP in the years following their legalisation,” the researcher found. “The taxation model suggested and used by Canada and Uruguay demonstrates how governments can effectively regulate pricing and safe cultivating methods, while keeping the legal market competitive against illicit trade.”

“Furthermore, Finland’s unique position and commitment to renewable energy could position the country as a leader in sustainable cannabis production.” he added.

“The results of this research paper have found that the legalisation of Cannabis provides a substantial potential benefit for Finland as it would open up a whole new industry as well as economically the tax revenue gained from this new industry would be used to tackle the limited negative impact that legalisation would have on society as well as potential help tackle other societal challenges Finland faces such as overconsumption of alcohol.” the study’s author concluded.