After several deadly shootings at Copenhagen's drug hotspot Christiania, the Danish capital is calling for a country-wide legalization of cannabis.
"I don't want to fuel these gangs with income and by legalizing Marijuana we can actually take some of their business away from them," Jens-Kristian Lutken, Copenhagen mayor of employment and integration, told CGTN. Other members of the city's administration such as Klaus Mygind have called for a legalization.
The Danish government, however, has been opposing a change of course on drug policy.
The CGTN camera crew had to film Christiania's pusher street with a hidden camera as drug dealers threatened with violence./CGTN/Pleschberger
Christiania has been an anarchist commune since the 1970s when hippies started squatting in a former naval base. Hashish sales at Christiania's 'pusher street' were tolerated by authorities until 2004 when police started to crack down on the drug trade.
Despite an increasing number of deadly shootings, attempts by both the government and the local community to close the street down have been unsuccessful. In August, a gang fight left a 30-year-old man dead and four other people injured.
'Freetown Christiania' is located in central Copenhagen./CGTN/Dworschak
"This is supposed to be a peaceful place and I think it's horrible that people are shooting in Pusher street but again it's because of the money and not because of the hash," says Joker Sorteper, Christiania's media spokesperson. "When I was a young man I was selling hash in Pusher street and it was very individual and we were a community, today it's more business just as outside."
Despite the horrors, the inhabitants of the self-governed area want to hold on to their alternative way of living, a lifestyle which continues to attract new people - such as Theresa Wichmann who arrived about a year ago.
"When you move into Christiania you are kind of responsible for the buildings yourself. We have a roof that was completely falling apart which we had to fix up. But you also have a lot of space to be creative. So there are not so many rules but there are also more things to be done."
Tourists and locals visit Christiania to buy drugs and to enjoy the hippie spirit./CGTN/Dworschak
While the community prevails despite increasing violence, some inhabitants want more rules.
"Actually you can't be kicked out and that's a big problem here in Christiania," says Mathilde Brandstrup who has been living in the neighborhood her whole life. "We try to figure out how we can kick people out because some people are doing very illegal things."
But Brandstrup adds she wouldn't want to live anywhere else. "We are 700 adults in Christiania, I think I know at least 500 of them. I'm never on my own - there are a lot of good people who can help me with everything."
Lütken from the city administration hopes that Christiania - which is one of Copenhagen's main tourist attractions - can survive these difficult times. "In this very well-organized, protestant society as Denmark is, there's also room for something which is completely different like Christiania," he says.
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