Use of intoxicants by youngsters in Finland is changing. While the number of people in their mid-teens who have never consumed alcohol has risen to 31 percent, more youth are trying marijuana.

One in 10 Finnish youth aged 15-16 has used cannabis while attitudes toward illicit drugs have become more positive. That is according to a study conducted last spring and published on Tuesday by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

The poll suggests that cannabis experimentation and usage have risen particularly among boys. This is in contrast to neighbouring Sweden and Norway, where cannabis usage has not risen among minors, and may even be lower than in Finland.

A citizens' initiative calling for the decriminalisation of cannabis use is headed to parliament for consideration by MPs.

The initiative received the required 50,000 signatures on Thursday evening, which means the document can now be handed to Finnish MPs for consideration.

The initiative calls for the decriminalisation of possession, use and cultivation of small amounts of cannabis.

Most of the support came in the final days of the initiative, which was started at the beginning of May. At the beginning of October the initiative had less than half of the needed signatures, but support surged over the past week in the run-up to the initiative's deadline, 1 November.

A ruling by Finland’s Supreme Court means that motorists will likely not be charged for driving under the influence days after using cannabis.

The influence of cannabis on users dissipates after some hours, however its "fingerprints" remain in the body for even longer. The court ruling aims to recognise that compounds related to metabolising cannabis may remain in the body for days after using the drug, although the user's ability to drive may not be impaired.

In Finland using cannabis is still illegal and drivers are still likely to be charged for the offence if they get behind the wheel hours after indulging in its use.

Finland, the happiest country in the world, and the new EU president, had national elections. Did cannabis have a place in the political debate?

Medical cannabis has been available in its modern form in Finland since 2006 through a judicial decision made during a patient case which went all the way to the Supreme Administrative Court (Mikkonen 2016). Finland was the first Nordic/Baltic country to legally allow some forms of cannabinoid therapeutics, but instead of seizing the opportunity, the country has fallen short in harvesting the full medicinal potential of the plant.