Why Is There Wild Cannabis Growing in the Streets of the Capital of Finland?

They grow in the streets, squares and any corner where they can take root. Seeing a wild cannabis plant in the streets of Helsinki or its metropolitan area has become an increasingly common event. At the end of summer, green marijuana leaves shine in all their splendour in the Finnish capital and its surroundings, profiting from having been born in the warmer season.

Although we assume that cannabis lovers will be pleased to find these plants while walking, the authorities do not seem to be so happy. Inspector Rauno Jämsan asserts having received constant claims from neighbours in Vantaa, where they have found more than a hundred plants. Some citizens of this town of more than 200,000 inhabitants located in the metropolitan area of Helsinki, alert the police by phone or email of the presence of cannabis.

The forces of law take different measures depending on where the plants grow and how many there are. If they grow in no man's land, they simply pull them out, but if they grow on private land, the owner is investigated. Measures are especially taken when it happens in large plots, since growing, owning and selling cannabis is illegal in Finland.

Helsinki and Jyväskylä are other cities where cannabis plants on the streets are gaining attention: they have been found at the very heart of the urban centre.

Finland is not the only country in which this occurs: it also happened a few months ago in some municipalities in the UK, although in this case it was learned that its presence was a vindictive act of Feed the Birds, a group of activists who demand the legalization of marijuana.