Heroiini returns to Finnish drug market, warns NGO

A Finnish NGO has warned that heroin is re-emerging on the country’s drug market, sold in small doses at very low prices.

Preventive Substance Abuse Work EHYT said observations of heroin sales have been reported since May in the Helsinki region, Southwest Finland, and Western Uusimaa.

EHYT noted Finland has not had a significant heroin problem for decades, with use previously limited to isolated cases among a small number of people.

“Current or new users may not know the drug or the risks involved, which makes the situation particularly concerning,” said Annuska Dal Maso, project manager of the Nopsa project at EHYT.

The organisation said it is too early to determine whether this marks a permanent shift in Finland’s drug landscape.

EHYT also reported two cases this April and May where the synthetic opioid protonitazene was found in deceased individuals, according to forensic toxicology studies by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Protonitazene is significantly more potent than morphine or fentanyl. Before these cases, it had been detected only three times in Finnish post-mortem examinations in 2023 and 2024.

Dal Maso warned that wider proliferation of nitazenes in Finland is likely only a matter of time.

Several welfare regions have also reported unusually high availability of amphetamines, according to EHYT.

Naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote, is distributed to drug users in some countries. Finland is preparing a legal amendment to allow anonymous distribution of naloxone, which would take effect in 2027 if approved.