Finland: Medical Cannabis Market Overview 2025

Medical cannabis in Finland is classified as an unlicensed medicine, available only under strict control and through a special permit process administered by the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea). The system allows access to cannabis-based medicines on a case-by-case basis for patients who have exhausted all authorised pharmaceutical alternatives.

While flower and oil formulations (notably Bedrocan products) were historically used under Fimea permits, prescriptions have declined in recent years as health authorities encouraged doctors to favour authorised cannabinoid medicines, such as Sativex (nabiximols), which holds a full marketing authorisation in Finland.

As of 2025, the Finnish medical cannabis market remains highly restricted, with no domestic cultivation or manufacturing, minimal patient numbers, and limited product availability.

Medical cannabis in Finland is regulated under the Medicines Act (395/1987) and the Narcotics Act (373/2008), both of which classify cannabis as a controlled substance.

Oversight and Licensing:

Permit Application Process:

This process can take several weeks and is subject to strict documentation and clinical justification.

Who Can Prescribe? Only pain management specialists at university hospitals and some health centre physicians are authorised to prescribe unlicensed medical cannabis products under a Fimea permit.

Treatable Pathologies: Medical cannabis is prescribed only in exceptional cases where other therapies have failed. The most common indications include:

Reimbursement: There is no reimbursement for unlicensed cannabis products under the national health insurance system. However, authorised cannabinoid medicines (e.g., Sativex) may be partially reimbursed when prescribed for approved indications.

Dispensation: Dispensation occurs exclusively through licensed pharmacies with narcotics-handling authorisation. The pharmacy sources the medicine via an importer after Fimea approval.

Available Products:

Product Trends:

Domestic Production: There is no domestic medical cannabis cultivation or manufacturing. All products are imported, primarily from the Netherlands.

Finland’s medical cannabis framework represents one of the most restrictive models in Europe, functioning primarily as a compassionate-use scheme rather than a commercial market.

The declining use of unlicensed cannabis flowers and oils reflects the authorities’ tight control and clinical conservatism, with regulatory agencies emphasising pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid medicines over herbal cannabis.

Future market development will depend on:

Until such changes occur, Finland’s medical cannabis ecosystem will remain limited in scale, heavily centralised, and dependent on imported unlicensed medicines.

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