Forbes
Once a paradise enclave for hippies, Christiania Freetown has turned into a battleground where gangs vie for control over the illegal drug trade. The residents now want the cannabis sale to stop.
In the wake of a fatal shooting incident that occurred last week, residents of Freetown Christiania, a commune in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, which has become one of the main tourist attractions of the city for cannabis consumers, want to stop cannabis sales along its main street.
The shooting occurred in Christiania on Saturday, August 26. Danish authorities reported that the incident resulted in the death of a 30-year-old man and injuries to four others.
Inside a building in the Christiania neighborhood, two masked gunmen unleashed gunfire. It is suspected that the shooting is connected to criminal gangs. An 18-year-old was arrested on the same day and is currently in custody, while the search for the remaining perpetrators by the police is ongoing, according to several news websites.
Christiania has maintained its status as an anarchist commune since the 1970s, originating from hippies squatting in an abandoned naval base.
While recreational cannabis is illegal in Denmark, there has been an unspoken acceptance of it within the Copenhagen neighborhood of Freetown Christiania.
Authorities tolerated the illegal trade of cannabis and hashish until 2004, when law enforcement started a crackdown on drug-related activities. Despite this, the hashish and cannabis market has persisted, intermittently leading to outbursts of violence associated with criminal gangs.
