Christiania's resurgent cannabis trade marred by violence and intimidation
Attempts to break gang ties to cannabis trade through its legalisation are hampered due to international obligations to cannabis control, an expert argues
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Almost a decade after extensive police raids in 2004 that were intended to clear out the drug dealers in Christiania, police estimate that the trade in cannabis is as strong as it was before. Residents explain that while the trade might have returned, the atmosphere is quite different from the days before the 2004 invasion by police, with greater levels of violence and intimidation. “The hash trade today is just as open as it was in 2004 and up on the same level. We believe that a billion kroner is sold every year,” says Lau Thygesen, of the Copenhagen Police’s department for organised crime. The news comes as a blow to Copenhagen’s City Council whose request to experiment with the decriminalisation of cannabis was turned down by the Justice Ministry in May.
