The Green Party has lost more than 50 members since the weekend, according to a report by news group Uutissuomalainen, after the party voted in favour of an initiative calling for the legalisation of cannabis in Finland.
The initiative was approved by a very narrow margin of 183 votes to 181, and has sparked widespread debate over the issue in the days since the vote.
Meanwhile, Uutissuomalainen also reported that the party gained just under 20 new members since the weekend, with party secretary Veli Liikanen confirming to the news agency on Wednesday that more people have left the party than joined in the first half of this week.
Although reasons for the resignations were not provided in every case, Liikanen said he believed it was clear that most of those who left the party did so precisely because of the call to legalise cannabis.
However, Liikanen told Uutissuomalainen that the number of resignations is still relatively small when compared to the remaining number of 7,900 members.