What's wrong with happy Finland and marijuana?

It's supposed to be the happiest place on earth – but what's wrong with Finland and marijuana?

Finland is once again at the top of the list of the happiest countries in the world. Rounding out the top 10 are Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia. The University of Oxford publishes the report and considers data and a range of six variables across the more than 130 countries listed in the report. Variables include GDP per capita, freedom, generosity, social support, healthy life expectancy, and freedom from corruption. This year, the USA and Germany fell completely out of the top 20.

In terms of size, only the Netherlands and Australia are the ten happiest countries with a population of over 15 million. Of the top 20, only Canada and the United Kingdom have a population over 30 million.

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But what's wrong with happy Finland and marijuana? Happy Canada was a pioneer in legalizing weed, opening up some great science-based medical benefits and filling government coffers. The total population of Finland was around 5.56 million. The largest age groups were 20 to 39 year olds (1.39 million) and 40 to 59 year olds (1.38 million), which made up more than half of the population. So you should be up to date, right? Well, it's complicated.

Unless prescribed for medical purposes (which is extremely rare in Finland), cannabis consumption is illegal. However, an estimated 100,000 people in the country still use it every month, and usage has increased in recent years. In an updated procedure, police will issue summary fines for most personal use violations, and cases will not be taken to court unless the defendant requests it. A serious drug offense and possession with intent to distribute (possession for sale) are always brought to court and carry harsher penalties.

The government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) is against the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis. However, his party's youth wing advocated for the decriminalization of all drugs in 2022 before being shut down by the parent party.

RELATED: Science Says Medical Marijuana Improves Quality of Life

A citizens' initiative to legalize cannabis will be submitted to Parliament for consideration after collecting 50,000 signatures on World Cannabis Day 2019.

The ten happiest countries with legal weed include Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Australia. This is not the case in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland.