Underage drug use in Finland has become a growing concern among outreach workers in Helsinki as children as young as 10 have been encountered with suspected substance misuse in public places. The cases were documented by Katutaso, the youth substance abuse outreach programme operated by the Helsinki Deaconess Foundation.
According to the Foundation, outreach workers recorded ten encounters involving children aged 10 to 14 within the past month alone. In total, 236 encounters involving suspected substance use were reported in October across the city.
Ulla Kaarina Petaja, a researcher at the Deaconess Foundation, said the findings point to an urgent need for stronger early intervention and preventive services. She noted that many of the children require child protection or psychosocial support and that outreach workers have engaged them directly to understand their situations.
Petaja expressed concern about what she described as shifting attitudes toward substance use among young people in Finland. She cited national school health survey results that indicate a rise in underage vaping and experimentation with cannabis. She added that cannabis continues to be the most commonly tried drug among Finnish youth and that attitudes toward it have softened in recent years.
Earlier this month, Helsinki University Hospital announced plans to provide opioid substitution treatment to minors. Petaja described the move as a necessary option but warned that treatment should not replace preventive action.
Intervention, she said, should occur long before medical treatment becomes necessary. She noted that prevention, early response and long term care must work together rather than function as separate efforts.
Petaja added that services must be available across all regions and that coordination between youth psychiatry, schools and child welfare services is essential. She also highlighted the importance of NGOs and community groups in providing supportive environments for young people navigating recovery.
She said that these organisations often create networks that offer stability, routine and peer support, making them an important part of early intervention efforts.
Fieldworkers at the Deaconess Foundation have observed that young people respond positively when approached with respect and consistency. Petaja said that building trust through repeated contact can be a turning point for minors who are at risk of deeper substance involvement.
She noted that outreach workers often become trusted adults whom young people can speak to about their challenges and everyday life. These early conversations can redirect vulnerable youth away from a path that may otherwise lead to school dropout, increased substance dependency or contact with crime.
The Foundation reported 663 encounters involving people under 25 in Helsinki and Vantaa since August. Outreach workers continue to accompany young people and provide long term support while a multi year study is underway to examine the outcomes of this approach.
The ongoing research aims to measure how participation in outreach affects health, wellbeing, motivation for treatment and overall social inclusion. The study will continue until September 2027.
