COPENHAGEN, Denmark ( AP )- The now-decadent hippies who took over a decrepit naval center in Copenhagen more than 50 years previously and transformed it into a rollicking area known as Christiania want to kick out criminals who control the area’s attractive marijuana business by ripping up the cobbled street where it openly changes hands.
Over the years, there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to stop the sale of illegal marijuana, which have frequently resulted in violent clashes between police and criminal gangs, with trading next resumed quickly. On Saturday, people started digging up Pusher Street, after which they can get government funds earmarked for the city’s construction.
Only after 10 a. m., two kids living in Christiania, Emilia and Sally, lifted the first stone from the renowned city in a metaphorical walk. As the large stone was shown around, a large crowd gathered at the image erupted in applause.
At the meeting, Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard, who was present, stated that Pusher Street’s construction and the specific boulders have a significant symbolic significance.
Christiania and the illegal sales of drugs abroad have been a big thorn in the side of the established society, Hummelgaard told Danish broadcaster TV2. ” But now we have reached the point where Christianians have had enough of the legal criminals.”
Members of the free town Christiania simultaneously dig up the boulders at Pusher Street, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday April 6, 2024. On Pusher Street, fresh water pipes and a fresh pavement may be laid after the cobblestones have been removed, and near structures will be renovated. Although” the free position” spirit of creativity and community life is preserved, that is the first step in a comprehensive program to integrate the hippie oasis into the Swedish capital region. ( Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP )
According to Mette Prag, planner of a fresh public housing project in the area, the goal is to” create a fresh Christiania without the unlawful marijuana business.” Prag, who has lived in Christiania for 37 years, likened it to” a village”.
” We do n’t want the gangsters anymore”, said Hulda Mader, who has lived in Christiania for 40 years. Once the illegal trade is gone,” there might be some people selling hashish afterward, but it’s not going to be in the open”.
On Pusher Street, new water pipes and new pavement will be laid after the cobblestones have been removed, and nearby structures will be renovated. Although” the free state” spirit of creativity and community life is preserved, that is the first step in a comprehensive plan to integrate the hippie oasis into the Danish capital area.
Danish authorities have been stumbling down the downtown area’s throats for years.
Squatters took control of the abandoned military facility in 1971 and established a neighborhood dedicated to the flower-power ideals that were prevalent at the time of free cannabis, less government influence, no cars, and no police. Since then, successive Danish governments have wanted to end Christiania due, among other things, to the frequently tense relations that result from the open sale of hashish.
1 Killed, 4 Injured in Shooting in Copenhagen’s Anarchist Neighbourhoodhttps: //t. co/Q30E5GxqG9
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) August 27, 2023
To begin with, the residents, called Christianites, disregarded laws by building houses without permits and often ignoring utility bills. Outsiders were only permitted to live in the neighborhood if they had a family history there.
In the end, the residents were granted the right to use the land but not to own it. After more than four decades of locking horns with authorities, they were given control over their homes in 2011, when the state sold the 84- acre ( 24- hectare ) enclave for 125.4 million kroner ($ 18.2 million ) to a foundation owned by its inhabitants. Currently, nearly 800 adults and about 200 children live there, according to Prag, with up to 25 % of the residents above the age of 60.
The following year, it was decided to erect public housing for up to 300 people. Beginning in 2027 is expected to be construction.
Prag stated that they want “younger people, more families” who want to relocate to Christiania and who are willing to take part in community events, complete with stray dogs and paintings of psychedelic buildings, to maintain the spirit of Christiania.
Over the years, Christiania has become one of Copenhagen’s biggest tourist attractions, a magnet for Danes as well as foreigners. Some people are offended by the public sale of hashish, while others are allowed to purchase marijuana. For years, Pusher Street authorities have tolerated the hashish trade. In 1980, Christianity banned hard drugs.
In March 1976, Danish Christians held a demonstration. ( Photo by Francois LOCHON/Gamma- Rapho via Getty Images )
Police began cracking down on drug-related activities, which are thought to be worth millions of dollars, as organized by the Hells Angels and the outlawed Loyal to Family, in 2004. Even when police arrested dealers and fined customers, the illegal sales resumed soon afterward.
Drug-related tensions grew in August of last year when a turf war allegedly led to a shooting that left one man dead and several others wounded.
Residents have also attempted to stop sales on Pusher Street themselves by closing the dealers ‘ booths, but they succumbed to their own, mushrooming back. Large shipping containers were removed by masked men, but residents had to block access to the street due to them.
Residents of Christiania decided in August that something had to be done after being fed up with criminals because the government had stated that eliminating the organized hashish sales was” an important prerequisite” for Christiania to receive 14.3 million kroner ($ 2.1 million ) earmarked for the renovation work.
Christiania now hopes that Pusher Street’s sales will end once and for all by inviting regular people to come and help dig up it, and that the neighborhood can remain a viable yet legal part of Copenhagen without criminals.
” You can come and have a cobblestone” as a souvenir, Mader said with a smile.
1 Killed, 4 Injured in Shooting in Copenhagen’s Anarchist Neighbourhoodhttps: //t. co/Q30E5GxqG9
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) August 27, 2023
