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COPENHAGEN

Closure of Copenhagen’s Pusher Street ‘has not caused spread’ of drug sales

The closure of the Pusher Street market in Copenhagen’s hippy enclave Christiania earlier this month has not resulted in drugs sales spreading to other parts of the city, police say. Pusher Street was known for its illicit cannabis market.

Published: 22 April 2024 15:03 CEST
Closure of Copenhagen’s Pusher Street 'has not caused spread' of drug sales
Pusher Street just prior to excavation on April 6th. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

In an internal memo sent within Copenhagen’s city administration, seen by local media TV2 Kosmopol, police say they have not seen increased drug sales in other locations following Pusher Street’s closure.

Pusher Street was officially closed on April 6th as Christiania residents and others symbolically ripped up the paving under the former site of the market. The memo is dated April 19th, according to the report.

The memo additionally states that police are monitoring activity in Christiania, outlying neighbourhood Christianshavn and in other parts on Copenhagen.

Following the April 6th closure, police have not registered “a significant spread of cannabis sales to other parts of Christiania” while several potential buyers have left the area without completing a purchase, police said.

READ ALSO: Why Denmark’s hippy Christiania is closing down its open drug market

Copenhagen Police have, however, received a small number of reports of cannabis sales on nearby square Christianshavns Torv.

“Overall, the assessment is that spread is limited,” the memo states.

Pusher Street was dug up on April 6th as part of a municipal restoration project that has been agreed for the area.

The renovation, which will include upgrading the locality’s sewage system, is expected to take around ten weeks. The finished street surface will include new and old cobblestones as well as a mosaic.

Member comments

  1. So in only two weeks they have determined that drug sales have not increased in other areas?
    I may be wrong here but the closing of ‘Pusher Street’ was well puplicised prior to closing. I think it is reasonable to assume that armed with that knowledge, your average user would prepare by buying extra in advance to tide them over until they found a new source. Coming to a conclusion in only two weeks is silly.
    Give us a report 6-12 months from now to be meaningful.

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POLITICS

Copenhagen lord mayor post gets sole Social Democratic candidate

Ex-minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil will be only Social Democrat to for the position of Lord Mayor of Copenhagen at next year's local elections in Denmark, after the previous mayor quit the job to take over Rosenkrantz-Theil's own role in the government.

Published: 11 September 2024 15:49 CEST
Copenhagen lord mayor post gets sole Social Democratic candidate

Rosenkrantz-Theil’s sole candidacy to become mayor in Copenhagen was confirmed by the Social Democrats after the deadline for application passed on Wednesday.

That makes the former minister a near-certainty to be officially announced as the candidate on Wednesday following a party meeting in Copenhagen, newswire Ritzau writes.

Interim mayor Lars Weiss has said he will continue in the post until the local elections but will not run in them, according to media reports.

Copenhagen’s previous mayor, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen was last month appointed as the new Minister of Social Affairs and Housing, a position she took over from  Rosenkrantz-Theil.

After some observers have criticised the move, Rosenkrantz-Theil said there was no guarantee she would be chosen by the Social Democrats as their lead candidate for Lord Mayor in the forthcoming local elections, which will take place across the country in November 2025.

The Social Democrats suffered significant losses under Hæstorp Andersen in the 2021 local elections, but she was still able to secure the mayoral position.

READ ALSO: Copenhagen gets interim mayor following government reshuffle

The former mayor suffered a damaging a political defeat when the Social Democrats were unusually left out of the 2023 annual budget after the left-wing party Red Green Alliance made a deal with the conservative parties.

The Red Green Alliance became the largest party in the Copenhagen city government in the 2021 election. Rosenkrantz-Theil, who was once a member of that party before switching to the Social Democrats, is seen as a strong candidate for the 2025 election.

During the recent government reshuffle, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen acknowledged the challenges faced by the Social Democrats in urban areas.

“There is no doubt that the Social Democrats are challenged in the cities. We have many mayoral posts. We will do everything we can to keep them after the next municipal elections,” she said.

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