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Europe · all countries · model D — Named-patient or exceptional access

Medical cannabis in Finland

Per-patient special permit (erityislupa), max 1 year

A new patient in Finland can only get cannabis flower or extracts through a patient-specific 'erityislupa' (special permit) that Fimea grants case by case for one year at most, after a doctor writes the prescription and a pharmacy applies; Fimea publishes no cannabis programme, product list or prescriber list.

The hardest fact about Finland. Every cannabis product needs a Fimea special permit renewed at least yearly, and reimbursement is only possible if the medicine price board Hila has separately confirmed a reimbursable wholesale price for that product — a status no source opened this session confirms for any cannabis product.

Every answer below was read in the law, the register or the official statistic itself. This country is part of the Europe layer: an English page of verified facts, no directory. Where an answer is marked as not published, no official source states it — we did not fill the gap with a guess.

The questions, answered for Finland

How access works here

The one-line answer: can a new patient start today, and through what.

D — named-patient / exceptional. Unauthorised medicines, including cannabis flower and extracts, may be released for consumption only under an 'erityislupa' (special permit) that Fimea (LÀÀkealan turvallisuus- ja kehittĂ€miskeskus, Finnish Medicines Agency) grants in individual cases for special medical reasons.

Fimea: 'Erityisluvalla tarkoitetaan Fimean erityisistÀ sairaanhoidollisista syistÀ myöntÀmÀÀ lupaa yksittÀistapauksissa luovuttaa kulutukseen sellaisen lÀÀkevalmisteen, jolla ei ole Suomessa myyntilupaa.' The treating physician assesses necessity; the pharmacy (or hospital pharmacy) applies through Fimea's e-service. A patient-specific permit (potilaskohtainen erityislupa) is tied to an individual prescription and is valid for at most one year. Legal basis: LÀÀkelaki (Medicines Act, 395/1987) as linked from Fimea's page. Fimea's site has no cannabis-specific page; searches for 'kannabis' and 'Bedrocan' return no results.

Source: Fimea — Erityisluvat (apteekit) · read 27 September 2026

What may be prescribed

What the law allows a doctor to write on a prescription here.

Not published

In principle any cannabis product with a marketing authorisation somewhere can be applied for under a special permit; Fimea publishes no positive list, and the authorised cannabinoid medicines available in Finland (Sativex, Epidyolex) could not be verified from Fimea's JavaScript-based product search this session.

Fimea's special-permit medicines search (Erityisluvalliset lÀÀkevalmisteet) exists but is an interactive database; the static page names no cannabis products and its 'kannabis'/'Bedrocan' search returns nothing. Epidyolex (cannabidiol) has a centralised EU authorisation (EMA, 19 Sept 2019), valid in Finland. Product-level availability in Finland is therefore 'not published' in a readable official page.

Source: Fimea — Erityisluvalliset lÀÀkevalmisteet (search page) · read 27 September 2026

Who may prescribe

Whether you need a specialist, and whether anyone has to approve it first.

Any physician may write the prescription and justification, but the product is dispensed only if Fimea grants the special permit; there is no state list of cannabis prescribers.

Fimea: for patient-specific permits the prescription must be in writing; electronic prescriptions are now accepted also for narcotic (huumausaine) and PKV medicines. Applicants are pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, wholesalers or manufacturers, not patients. Fimea does not publish criteria specific to cannabis, nor a specialist requirement, on any page opened this session.

Source: Fimea — Erityisluvat (apteekit) · read 27 September 2026

Type of prescription

The form itself: which prescription, how long it is valid, how much it covers.

A written or electronic prescription for a narcotic medicine plus a Fimea patient-specific special permit valid for at most one year; the permit must be renewed for continued treatment.

Fimea: potilaskohtainen erityislupa is tied to an individual prescription, 'voimassa enintÀÀn vuoden'; e-prescriptions are accepted for huumausaine and PKV products. Quantity limits per prescription for cannabis were not found on official pages.

Source: Fimea — Erityisluvat (apteekit) · read 27 September 2026

Telemedicine

Whether a prescription can lawfully begin in a video call.

Not published

No official rule was found that addresses starting cannabis treatment by video consultation; the binding gate is Fimea's per-patient permit decision.

Neither Fimea's special-permit pages nor the cross-border prescription pages of the national contact point address consultation format. Not published.

Source: Fimea — Poikkeus- ja erityisluvat (kansalaisen lÀÀketieto) · read 27 September 2026

Dispensing

Which pharmacy can actually hand it over.

The pharmacy that applied for the permit orders and dispenses the product; any Finnish pharmacy may apply. Posting narcotic medicines into Finland is prohibited.

Fimea: pharmacies and hospital pharmacies apply for and receive the special permit through the e-service. The national contact point (eu-terveydenhoito.fi, run by Kela) states that narcotic medicines may not be sent by post into Finland. No official register marks cannabis-dispensing pharmacies.

Source: Fimea — Erityisluvat (apteekit) · read 27 September 2026

Reimbursement

Whether anyone other than you pays for it.

Not published

A special-permit medicine is reimbursed by Kela only if Hila (medicine price board) has confirmed basic reimbursability and a wholesale price for it; a patient or pharmacy can apply for this (fee EUR 30), but only basic reimbursement is possible and decisions are time-limited. No source opened confirms such a decision for any cannabis product.

Hila (LÀÀkkeiden hintalautakunta, page updated 6 May 2024): 'Potilas tai apteekki potilaan puolesta voi hakea' reimbursability for an erityisluvallinen lÀÀkevalmiste; conditions are a valid Fimea special permit and a Hila decision on reimbursability and wholesale price; 'Potilas voi hakea erityisluvalliselle lÀÀkevalmisteelle ainoastaan peruskorvattavuutta'; decisions 'ovat mÀÀrÀaikaisia'; application fee EUR 30. Whether any cannabis flower product currently holds such a decision is not stated on the pages opened (the widely reported end of reimbursement for Bedrocan-type products could not be verified officially).

Source: Hila — Erityisluvallinen lÀÀkevalmiste, hakijana yksityishenkilö · read 27 September 2026

What it costs

What you pay, as far as anyone publishes it.

Not published

No official price for cannabis special-permit products is published; Kela's medicine search lists prices only for reimbursed medicines.

Kela's LÀÀkehaku covers reimbursable medicines and their reference prices; special-permit cannabis products without a Hila decision have no regulator-published price. No public price.

Source: Kela — LÀÀkehaku · read 27 September 2026

Driving

The question with the worst consequences and the least reliable information online.

Not published

Finland's Criminal Code (Rikoslaki 23 luku 3 §) is the drug-driving rule; its text could not be opened this session because Finlex is a JavaScript application, so the commonly cited zero-tolerance rule with an exception for medicines the driver was entitled to use is reported here as unverified.

Rikoslaki (Criminal Code, 39/1889) 23 luku 3 § (rattijuopumus) is the relevant provision. Attempts to open Finlex (old and new URL formats, PDF of amending act 1198/2002, English translation) returned only navigation or 404. No Finnish official page opened in this session states the rule, so no wording is quoted; the site should verify before publishing.

Source: Finlex — Rikoslaki 39/1889 (page returned navigation only) · read 27 September 2026

Travel

Taking it across a border, which is where most published advice is simply wrong.

Narcotic medicines may be carried into Finland for personal use: up to 30 days' supply from a Schengen country with a pharmacy-issued Schengen certificate, up to 14 days' supply from a non-Schengen country; they may never be posted. Other prescription medicines: up to 1 year's supply from the EEA, 3 months from elsewhere.

Fimea (Matkailijan lÀÀkkeet), legal basis Valtioneuvoston asetus lÀÀkevalmisteiden henkilökohtaisesta tuonnista Suomeen (Government Decree on personal import of medicinal products, 1088/2002): from EEA countries one year's supply by hand (3 months by post); from non-EEA countries (incl. UK since 1 Jan 2021) 3 months by hand, no post. Huumausaineeksi luokitellut lÀÀkkeet: from Schengen countries 'korkeintaan 30 vuorokauden kÀyttöÀ vastaavan mÀÀrÀn' with a Schengen-todistus; from non-Schengen countries at most '14 vuorokauden kÀyttöÀ vastaavan mÀÀrÀn'; posting prohibited. Fimea (Schengen-todistus): Finnish pharmacies issue the certificate only to persons permanently resident in Finland; 'Todistus on voimassa 30 vuorokautta'; it covers marketed products, special-permit products and ex tempore preparations containing narcotic or psychotropic substances.

Source: Fimea — Matkailijan lÀÀkkeet · read 27 September 2026

As a visitor or new resident

Four things nobody publishes together: getting a prescription as a non-resident, using a prescription from another EU country, bringing your own medicine in, and whether a foreign video consultation counts.

Finnish pharmacies accept EU/EEA/Swiss prescriptions, but not for narcotic medicines, so a foreign cannabis prescription cannot be filled; a non-resident would need a Finnish doctor and a Fimea special permit like anyone else. Visitors may carry their own supply (30 days Schengen / 14 days non-Schengen).

(1) Non-residents: no legal bar found; the gate is the Fimea per-patient permit applied for by a Finnish pharmacy on a Finnish prescription. (2) Foreign EEA prescriptions: the national contact point (eu-terveydenhoito.fi, Kela, updated 4 Feb 2026, implementing Directive 2011/24/EU) — 'Suomen apteekeissa voi ostaa lÀÀkkeitĂ€ toisissa EU- ja Eta-maissa ja SveitsissĂ€ kirjoitetulla lÀÀkemÀÀrĂ€yksellĂ€', with the Art. 11 minimum content; but prescriptions cannot be filled for narcotics, certain CNS (PKV) medicines or products requiring special record-keeping — these require a prescription from a Finnish-licensed physician (Art. 11(6) exclusion). Cross-border e-prescriptions are accepted from Estonia, Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania and Spain, under the same exclusions. (3) Bringing medicine in: Fimea — narcotics 30 days (Schengen, with certificate) / 14 days (non-Schengen), never by post; UK travellers count as non-EEA. (4) Foreign telemedicine prescriptions: follow from (2) — not dispensable for any narcotic cannabis product.

Source: EU-terveydenhoito.fi (Kela, national contact point) — Ulkomaisten lÀÀkemÀÀrĂ€ysten toimittaminen Suomessa · read 27 September 2026

What is changing

What is pending in parliament or at the regulator, with dates — or the statement that nothing is.

No pending change to the special-permit model was found on Fimea's pages; the one operational change noted is that e-prescriptions are now accepted for narcotic special-permit products.

Fimea's erityisluvat page (updates through 2024–2025) records that electronic prescriptions are accepted for huumausaine and PKV special-permit products. No cannabis-specific reform is announced on Fimea, Kela or Hila pages opened this session.

Source: Fimea — Erityisluvat (apteekit) · read 27 September 2026

Number of patients

How many people this actually concerns — where anyone counts.

Not published

No official count of cannabis special permits or patients was found; Fimea's site returns no results for cannabis statistics.

Fimea search for 'erityislupa kannabis tilasto', 'kannabis' and 'Bedrocan' returned no relevant documents. No Kela statistics on cannabis reimbursement were located.

Source: Fimea — site search 'kannabis' · read 27 September 2026

What we can publish for Finland, and what we cannot

Four directories, four honest answers. Where an official register exists we republish it and link every entry back to the source. Where none exists, that is what the page says — a list built out of self-declarations would be worse than no list, and saying so is more useful to you than pretending.

Doctors

No list — by design

No state list of cannabis prescribers; Valvira's general practitioner register (JulkiTerhikki) does not identify who applies for cannabis permits.

Pharmacies

No list — by design

Any pharmacy may apply for a special permit; no official register marks cannabis-dispensing pharmacies.

Products and preparations

No list — by design

No official positive list; Fimea's special-permit database is per-product/per-application and names no cannabis products on its static page.

Telemedicine platforms

No list — by design

No official telehealth register and no published rule enabling online cannabis permits.

Where this country's law lives

Everything above comes from these texts rather than from another portal's summary. They are listed so you can check us.

Crossing a border with this

Two European rules decide most of what a traveller asks. Directive 2011/24/EU obliges pharmacies to honour prescriptions from another Member State — but only for medicines authorised in the dispensing country, and its Article 11(6) says the rule “shall not apply to medicinal products subject to special medical prescription”, which is where narcotic prescriptions sit. A magistral cannabis preparation is neither authorised nor outside that exclusion, so a cannabis prescription from another country is, as a rule, not dispensable anywhere in Europe. For carrying your own medicine, Article 75 of the Schengen Convention lets a resident of a Schengen state travel with a certified supply for up to 30 days; outside Schengen, national import rules apply. The country-specific answer is above under “As a visitor or new resident”.

Directive 2011/24/EU, Article 11(1) and 11(6) — read on EUR-Lex on 27 September 2026: CELEX 32011L0024.

Other countries with the same model (named-patient or exceptional access)

The answers change at every border, and a prescription does not travel with you. Compare before you assume.