A citizens' initiative calling for supervised drug consumption rooms to be trialled in Finland has reached the required 50,000 signatures and moves to Parliament to be debated by MPs.

The initiative, which advocates for the facilities as a way to reduce drug-related deaths, achieved the necessary support within less than six months.

So far, Finland's criminalisation of drug possession and use has prevented the testing of supervised drug use rooms.

In such facilities, drug users can use illegal intoxicants under the supervision of a health care worker.

Initiative refers to THL statement

The initiative justifies the need for supervised drug consumption facilities on the grounds that it would reduce deaths from opioid overdose, one of the leading causes of premature death among the adult population in Finland.

To support the claim, the initiative's backers refer to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) statement in January that proposed implementing supervised drug consumption facilities as a way to reduce drug-related deaths in Finland.

The initiative also argues that the facilities would minimise disturbances in public spaces, and reduce the risk of used needles becoming a nuisance.

Drug-related deaths have increased in Finland throughout the 2000s. According to Statistics Finland, 258 people died in Finland due to drug-related causes in 2020.

Compared to the rest of the European Union as well as Norway and Turkey, Finland has the highest number of drug-related deaths among those under 25, according to the latest European Drug Report.

In 2019, the introduction of legislation allowing the trial of drug consumption rooms was proposed by the City of Helsinki to the government. However, the issue did not progress at the cabinet level.