Local Round-Up: Cocaine in Copenhagen streets getting purer … and more potent

Elsewhere, Ukrainian refugees find a home in Nørrebro and ticket fines in buses are set shoot up by 33 percent

Benedicte Vagner

Sep 8, 2022

According to a report from Sundhedsstyrelsen health authority, the purity of cocaine on the streets of Copenhagen has increased in recent years.

Copenhagen has the highest purity average percentage in the nation with 74 percent, but other regions weren’t far behind.

It was 67 percent in Odense and Esbjerg and 62 percent in Aarhus and Aalborg. The national average increased from 20 to 67 percent from 2011 to 2021.

A similar development can be seen in the rest of Europe, according to figures from the UN and Europol.

Not as good as you think
However, the flipside of purer cocaine is that is more dangerous when taken, according to Dorthe Palmqvist, a doctor at Bispebjerg Hospital.

She told TV2 Lorry that you take a larger dose with purer cocaine, which can lead to being poisoned. in 2020, over 540 people were hospitalised due to cocaine poisoning.

One out of six Danes aged 16-34 have tried illegal drugs other than marijuana, which is a startling amount according to Irene Breum Müller, a chemist at the Department of Forensic Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen.

“I would never dare do it since you would never know for certain what is in it,” she told TV2 Lorry.

Ukrainian refugees moving to Nørrebro
Between 400 and 500 Ukrainian refugees will move to Nørrebro in the beginning of September, according to Copenhagen Municipality. It has proven to be a difficult task for Copenhagen to find accommodation for the refugees. They will be moving into the De Gamles By building, an area that was initially supposed to be changed into a school. However, after that project was postponed a year, it was decided that the building could house the refugees instead.

Movia to increase its fines
Fines for forgetting your bus ticket or travel card are set to increase in wake of transportation company Movia’s decision to kick up the existing price by 33 percent. It will mean that adults will have to pay 1,000 kroner, while children will have to fork out 500 kroner when fined. The prices have not been regulated since 2011, and Movia hopes the price increase will encourage people to remember to pay for their ticket. Other companies also set to increase prices to 1,000 kroner include Arriva, Midttraffik, Fynbus and Nordjyllands Trafikselskab.

Giraffe dead after accident
Copenhagen Zoo lost one of its giraffes due to an accident caused by one of the feeding suspensions. According to the zoo, it is the first accident of its kind and measures will be taken to ensure that it does not happen again. The dead 6-year-old giraffe sired two calves before its demise and Copenhagen Zoo is happy that it contributed to the future of its giraffe population. The zoo will use parts of the giraffe for different research projects, while the rest of the carcass will be fed the zoo’s predatory animals.

Copenhagen apartments empty for years
According to a new report by Copenhagen Municipality, some 2,700 apartments have been registered as being empty since 2015. Out of these apartments, 2,000 are privately owned and this has concerned the municipality. There could be even more long-term empty apartments out there, however, as the report only relates to apartments that have been empty since 2015.

Fishing accessible for everyone
As of September, it has been possible for the public in Copenhagen to lend fishing equipment for free in Sydhavn and Nordhavn. Copenhagen wants everyone living in or visiting the city to have access to fishing equipment – some 25 different fish species live in the city’s waterfront area. In the last five years, interest in urban fishing has increased considerably and the sale of fishing licenses has increased by 30 percent in that time.

New direct flight to Bordeaux
A new direct flight between Copenhagen and Bordeaux is set to commence from November 10. EasyJet will be servicing the route using an Airbus A319 with room for 156 passengers. ”We are happy to be able to open an exclusive route with easyJet and will also give the people of Bordeaux and opportunity to explore the charms of Copenhagen,” said Reginald Otten, an easyJet spokesperson. EasyJet currently operate 14 routes out of Copenhagen to seven countries.

From parking lot to green student living
Some 88 students have moved into a new student housing area in Amagerbro. Once a parking lot, it was transformed into student housing by CPH Village and Freja Ejendomme. CPH Village had already created 430 living spaces for students in the Copenhagen area since 2018, which has helped alleviate the city’s student accommodation problem. The new student housing area was built with a focus on climate change, green living and minimising its CO2 footprint.

Homelessness spike in Dragør
Dragør Municipality has seen a sharp increase in homelessness over the past three years. It has gone from just two homeless people to 121 – a whopping 5,950 percent increase. The news comes despite homelessness being on the decline nationally. The Dragør spike may be down to the municipality not previous counting people who permanently and illegally live in camping areas. The municipality is considering what they can do to help the situation and lower the number.

Former PM moving back to Denmark
Denmark’s former PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt is moving back to Denmark after living in the UK for six years, according to her own Instagram account. She will move into an apartment in Sydhavn and it is still unclear whether her British husband Stephen Kinnock will join her. She had emotional experience when reinstating herself in Denmark and changing her permanent address. “As my papers were stamped and the clerk said ‘Welcome home’, I started crying,” she said.