Denmark: police raids on Christiania prompt reform of cannabis laws

On June 17, a hundred police officers raided Christiania, Copenhagen's famous autonomous district. known for its cannabis market. Authorities raided 37 stalls on Pusher Street, the open-air market, demolishing structures and arresting 17 people, with the seizure of 10 kilos of cannabis.

It's certainly not the first time Christiania has been raided by the police since its creation in 1971. But this time, the raid is widely condemned by Danish politicians.

A visit to Christiania is an unforgettable experience. What began as a bunch of hippies squatting in a seedy part of Copenhagen has evolved into an alternative village, with its own stores, restaurants and open-access cannabis market. Also known as Freetown Christiania, the neighborhood is home to 900 residents and welcomes over 500,000 tourists a year.

Pusher Street, a line-up of stalls selling weed, This is the central point of interest for tourists and authorities alike. For years, police have sporadically raided the area to arrest vendors and confiscate goods. But the result is always the same: immediately after the raid, consumers turn to the black market and Copenhagen dealers. Then the Christiania stalls reopen and consumers return.

Two things were different this time. Firstly, the police were more aggressive, chasing those present and handing out a few blows with batons.

And secondly, the reactions of Danish celebrities were mainly against the raid. «I personally think that we should legalize the sale of cannabis, It's a fight we can't win,» said Anne Birgitte Stürup, Senior Public Prosecutor in Copenhagen. «We've been trying to fight it for years, and it's gotten us nowhere. We can't stop cannabis use by outlawing it. It's very expensive and not very effective.»

The city of Copenhagen has requested permission from the government 3 times to launch a pilot program to regulate cannabis in the city. Parliament has always voted against the proposal. Per Larsen, former Chief Inspector of the Copenhagen Police, told Jyllands-Posten that the city should be allowed to test the program: «The money [from cannabis] is going into the wrong hands, and I think it could be used for more positive things.

Former prosecutor Erik Merlung accuses the prohibitionists in Parliament of «turning a blind eye to reality». «You decide on huge raids on Christiania, where everything is destroyed in an afternoon, but everything is rebuilt the very next morning. And if it's not in Christiania, it's elsewhere in the city. It's a desperate strategy.»

Massive support for a more tolerant cannabis policy is unlikely to lead to immediate change, however. The Minister of Health herself, Sophie Løhde, is dampening hopes of reform. «Like the previous government,» she wrote in an e-mail quoted by the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, «we have no intention of legalizing cannabis.

Earlier this month, a proposal was made to launch a 4-year pilot program for medical cannabis.