Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor: Don’t buy weed in Pusher Street

After the recent murder in Christiania, Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen is now issuing a direct appeal to foreign visitors and students to refrain from buying hash in Pusher Street.

A 30-year-old man was shot and killed

on August 26th a 30-year-old man was shot and killed at Christiania and four other people were
hit. Copenhagen Police assesses that this is a result of an ongoing conflict between Hells Angels MC
and the banned street gang Loyal to Familia.

The cynical murder led the residents of Fristaden Christiania to make a historic decision: Pusher
Street must be closed.

Lord Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen supports the decision of the residents. And that is why she
is now sending an appeal to more than the half a million visitors who yearly make Fristaden
Christiania one of Copenhagen’s biggest tourist attractions.

-“The spiral of violence at Christiania is deeply worrying. Therefore, I would like to encourage not
only Copenhageners, but also the hundreds of thousands of visiting tourists and the many new
foreign students who have just moved to Copenhagen to stay away and refrain from buying weed
or other drugs at Pusher Street. Stop supporting the cynical gangs!” Sophie Hæstorp Andersen
says.

-“It may seem innocent to buy weed for a festive night out but think about the fact that your money
ends up in the pockets of criminal gangs who shoot in our streets and put innocent people in
danger,” says the Lord Mayor.

Sophie Hæstorp Andersen hopes that she can help start an anti-Pusher Street movement in civil
society.

-“It is important that the residents of Christiania, who live with the violence and insecurity every
single day, experience that the rest of the city – including visitors from abroad –support the
boycotting of Pusher Street. I sincerely hope that any potential buyer will think twice before
supporting the criminal gangs and bikers in Pusher Street. There is room for a twisted and
alternative Christiania in Copenhagen, but Christiania’s future must be without the violent and
organized crime,” emphasizes Sophie Hæstorp Andersen.

The Municipality of Copenhagen is currently working together with the Copenhagen Police, the
Ministry of Justice, Fonden Christiania and the residents of Christiania on a comprehensive plan to
close Pusher Street and at the same time ensure that drug sales and violence won’t spread to other
areas in Copenhagen.

-“If it had been easy to close Pusher Street permanently without moving the problems to another
area in Copenhagen, it would undoubtedly have happened during the last 50 years. But there is no
quick fix. On the other hand, there is a historic agreement and willingness among all stakeholders
at and around Christiania to say: Enough is enough.”