The typical self-medicative user of cannabis in Finland is an older woman who uses edibles, new survey study shows
DrugsAleksi Hupli, PhD, Tampere University Published 17 Sep 2025
In this week’s PopNAD article, Aleksi Hupli (Tampere University) presents findings from a new survey study that reveals the differences and similarities between recreationally and medically motivated cannabis users in Finland. The study highlights how medical cannabis users often differ in age, gender, and consumption patterns from recreational users - while still sharing some important similarities. These insights matter not only for researchers, but also for policymakers as Finland continues to grapple with questions about access to medical cannabis.
A recent study published in iScience, examined differences between mainly recreationally and medically motivated cannabis users in Finland. Among 537 participants, 157 reported mainly recreational motivations and 370 mainly medical. The study compared the two groups across factors like age, gender, education, frequency of use in the past month, and age of first use. Additional analyses looked at employment status, type of cannabis used, severity of dependence and reported THC and CBD levels.
Differences and similarities between the groups
Based on the analysis medical cannabis users in Finland were more often older women with lower levels of education, and they tended to use edibles and consume cannabis more frequently than recreational users. At the same time, there were also notable similarities between medical and recreational use. For instance, both groups reported comparable employment status and scored low on the severity of dependence scale. These findings highlight the need to take both differences and overlaps into account when planning future research and shaping cannabis policy.
Cannabis as medicine is legal in Finland, but difficult to access
Cannabinoid-based medical products (CBMPs) have been legally available in Finland since 2008. Yet, prescription rates have been modest and even declined in recent years. Estimates from the 2014 national survey suggested that 2000-5000 Finnish people were already using cannabis for medical reasons without a prescription. As overall cannabis use has increased since then, it is likely that the portion of the population using non-medical grade cannabis for self-medication has also increased. This makes it essential to study not only patterns of use but also the barriers that prevent patients from accessing legal medical cannabis.
A recent YLE news article illustrated these challenges through the case of “Hanna”, a woman who self-medicates her migraine with cannabis but is afraid to talk to her doctor about it.
Study protocol based on the Dutch MEDUSA project
The study was inspired by a research protocol developed in the Dutch MEDUSA project (2023) (MEDicinal USe of cAnnabis: Motives, patterns of use and barriers to treatment) at the Trimbos Institute. That protocol included questions on primary health indications and symptoms, symptom relief effectiveness, changes in quality of life, and the impact of cannabis use on other medications. While analyses of these factors is still ongoing, the current Finnish study adopted a similar analytical approach to the authors’ earlier work.
In that earlier study, predictive factors such as gender and age were linked to medical use, but city size and earlier onset age of initiating cannabis use also played a significant role. Interestingly, these latter factors were not predictive in the current study. Differences in the samples may account for this, but more representative data will be needed to clarify these dynamics.
The article is written by Aleksi Hupli/PhD, Tampere University, Emerging Technologies Lab
on the request of PopNAD
