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kwardvancouver.bsky.social
karen ward
@kwardvancouver.bsky.social
3K followers 890 following 9.8K posts
once called « Canada's only public intellectual »

drug policy researcher & advisor ⁕ historian ⁕ artist ⁕ schemer ⁕ disorganizer

institute for the history of possible futures

https://free-futures-society.org/
Posts Replies Media Videos
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
“Contaminated“ implies that there’s a product that’s made in conditions of quality control and afterwards altered and that is not what’s happening here.

this is the evolution of a commodity of an unregulated industry for an unregulated market

people call it Down
The First Nations Health Authority, Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health have reported a higher number of drug poisonings due to a number of factors including the presence of a contaminant called medetomidin
November 28, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by karen ward
maxdaly.bsky.social
“U know I’ve killed about 9 people and made about 4 die bro it’s fucked up init. First person was in 1st year in school bro kmt bro, after I do the ones on the list I think I’m gonna go into retirement.”

I wrote about Britain’s inept hitmen

unherd.com/2025/11/the-...
The truth about hitmen
unherd.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:28 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
this would never happen in Canada because there are no public bathrooms
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Bear attacks man in public toilet in Japan
Incident north of Tokyo comes after a record 13 deaths from bear attacks in Japan since the start of April
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Reposted by karen ward
wwahammy.com
If you're a doctor and you stop providing care because of what your boss said, you should lose your license.
November 27, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by karen ward
thebreakdownab.bsky.social
NDP Today - Boy, sure seems like friends of Marshall Smith land some pretty major contracts! Did anyone in government ever have concerns about the background?

UCP - Marshall Smith is the most awesome person ever!

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
November 27, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by karen ward
sanho.bsky.social
This path leads to chaos.
Phil Gentry @pmgentry A professor of mine went to go hear Derrida speak once. The entire talk was about cows; everyone was flummoxed but listened carefully, and took notes about...cows. There was a short break, and when Derrida came back, he was like, "I'm told it is pronounced 'chaos. 11:28 AM • 4/5/21 from Philadelphia, PA • Twitter for iPhone
November 26, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by karen ward
philiphoare.bsky.social
Happy Birthday to William Blake, who knows where the wild things are...
November 28, 2025 at 6:17 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
ABC’s platform for social, supportive and non-market housing (c. 2022)
ABC platform for social, supportive and coop housing
November 28, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Reposted by karen ward
emath.bsky.social
1 like equals one Rod Stewart tribute artist.
November 28, 2025 at 6:08 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Fossilized
A gas station, overgrown with vines and grass and trees and what not
November 28, 2025 at 5:58 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Running for civic office next year? Include a commitment to doing an accountability audit of “stakeholder” group to ensure that they represent who they claim to be.
pwaldkirch.bsky.social Peter Waldkirch @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 4h
Alright, now up is Larry Benge, with the Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods, which purports to be a representative group of n'hood associations, but includes hollow, non-inclusive, private groups. A few years back I tried to identify defunct member groups, here's what I found back then...
November 28, 2025 at 5:51 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
protecting children.
November 28, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Reposted by karen ward
ehyshka.bsky.social
Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025,  the advocate’s office recorded 60 youth deaths and nine serious injuries among young people who had received child intervention services within the two years preceding their death.

apple.news/AyqEPphBWQAu...
'Gap in assessments': Alberta's child and youth advocate calls for better intervention — Edmonton Journal
Annual report highlights service gaps, substance-use risks, and missed assessments in the deaths and serious injuries among children connected to Alberta's intervention system
apple.news
November 28, 2025 at 5:38 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
I’M AGAINST LINEAR TIME
pwaldkirch.bsky.social Peter Waldkirch @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 5h
This guy is big on "character", mentioning it a lot, and how he feels threatened by the change he sees in some parts of the city
November 28, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Reposted by karen ward
symbo1ics.bsky.social
All colonies have this substructure of desperate social climbing and fractionating of proximity to blue blood; Australia & Canada are definitely not immune—from bowling greens to oligarchic boardrooms they're practically powered by a yearning to be aristocracy-better-than-you, hands unmarred by work
lirelum.bsky.social 🍂🍂🍂 @lirelum.bsky.social · 5h
Sometimes I'll end up on the monarchism subreddit and it's fascinating

They'll have discussions like "which person do we think has enough noble blood left to rightfully be the king of America so we can throw off the communist degeneracy of democracy" or whatever
November 28, 2025 at 5:05 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
can we just have housing for everyone for fucks sake
November 28, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Reposted by karen ward
dsdp.ca
Thank you @robbotterell.bsky.social for bringing @hrna.bsky.social and our words to the heart of the debate on @davidebybc.bsky.social's plans to expand involuntary treatment and pre-empt the results of a longstanding charter challenge by disability rights groups and others.

#harmreduction #bcpoli
Screenshot from "Committee of the Whole" on "Bill 32 — Mental Health Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025" in the BC legislature. Text reads: "The B.C. Human Rights Commissioner stated that involuntary treatment for substance use violates autonomy and self-determination, disproportionately harms Indigenous, Black, disabled, gender-diverse and low-income people, lacks evidentiary support and cannot be justified when B.C.’s voluntary community-based system is profoundly under-resourced. In a joint letter, Harm Reduction Nurses Association and Doctors for Safer Drug Policy write that compulsory substance use treatment is ineffective and dangerous. They state — and I’m coming to a question: 'The evidence is clear and consistent. Compulsory treatment has no demonstrated long-term benefit. Relapse rates are extraordinarily high. One study reported 96.4 percent relapse within two months after mandated treatment. The risks of overdose and death are significantly elevated immediately after discharge from compulsory treatment. Involuntary settings sever trust, increase trauma and escalate risk. Leading human rights scholars have concluded that mass detention for treatment constitutes a grave violation of human rights and cannot be justified by claims of substance use disorder alone. 'As research and our clinical experience demonstrate, people are most vulnerable to overdose after periods of forced abstinence. Coercion increases risk; it does not reduce it.'"
November 28, 2025 at 4:53 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Vancouver Coastal Health courageously stood up for DULF for almost six hours, it was amazing. Then they caved and rescinded this statement (which I downloaded) and cut the funding and ran away like the unprincipled cowards they are
Vancouver Coastal Health statement suggesting that DULF was providing regulated drugs under the authority of the Ministerial order M488, as overdose prevention
November 28, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Reposted by karen ward
clairezagorski.bsky.social
the drug users I know are out in their neighborhoods handing out naloxone, distributing new syringes while collecting used ones for incineration (just like hospitals do), feeding and protecting and connecting to their broader community.
November 28, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Reposted by karen ward
clairezagorski.bsky.social
honestly, RFK’s substance use might be the most normal thing about him
anamariecox.bsky.social Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.bsky.social · 1d
I am a little tired of being yelled at for this but apparently not tired about: heroin addiction is not RFK’s problem. He’s a sociopath. Most addicts aren’t. Honestly, walk into an NA meeting, grab the first person with a few years to be head of HHS and they’d probably do a better job than Bobby.
fatdonald.bsky.social Fat Donald @fatdonald.bsky.social · 1d
This is what happens when you put a privileged, 14 year heroin addict in charge of health. Duh
November 28, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by karen ward
bmceuen.bsky.social
This is such incredible news
adapalmer.bsky.social Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 20h
Clean power growth is now covering all new global demand. Solar and wind generated 635 TWh in the first nine months of this year, exceeding the 603 TWh rise in global electricity demand, and holding fossil generation flat for the year. buff.ly/zRmwAmg
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Q3 Global Power Report: No fossil fuel growth expected in 2025 | Ember
Solar and wind power grew fast enough to keep up with rising electricity demand in the first three quarters of 2025, as fossil fuel growth should be stagnated. Ember forecasts no growth for fossil…
buff.ly
November 28, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Reposted by karen ward
simple-sabotage.bsky.social
When you go to the lavatory, spend a longer time there than is necessary.
November 28, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Reposted by karen ward
brucearthur.bsky.social
The man has principles
rachelgilmore.bsky.social Rachel Gilmore @rachelgilmore.bsky.social · 12h
Trudeau-era environment minister Steven Guilbeault has published a resignation letter detailing the reasons for his departure from Carney's cabinet.

He directly cites today's MOU:
Statement by Steven Guilbeault This afternoon, it is with great sadness that I submitted my resignation to the Prime Minister as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, Minister of Nature and Parks Canada, as well as his Lieutenant in Quebec. As you know, I chose to enter politics to champion the fight against climate change and the protection of the environment. Over the past ten years, our country has made historic progress in reducing climate pollution, protecting nature and the environment, while our economy continued to grow. I believe I have contributed to these advancements, and I remain deeply proud of the achievements I have helped bring forward: • Standing up to tech giants and major polluters • Implementing Canada's first emissions reduction plan, slowing their growth and placing them on a downward trajectory • Establishing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation • Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act • Developing the country's first national climate adaptation strategy to protect our communities • Eliminating harmful single-use plastics • Implementing the most ambitious nature conservation plan in the country's history • Continuing the modernization of the Official Languages Act • Making historic investments in arts and culture, including during the COVID-19 crisis and in the most recent budget Changes in our relationship with the United States have led to profound disruptions affecting the global order, diplomatic relations, and the economy. I understand and share the Prime Minister's efforts to ensure our country First, there was no consultation with the Indigenous nations of the West Coast of British Columbia or with the provincial government, who would be greatly affected by this agreement. Furthermore, a pipeline to the West Coast would have major environmental impacts, particularly as it could cross the Great Bear Rainforest, contribute to a significant increase in climate pollution, and move Canada further away from its greenhouse gas reduction targets. Lifting the tanker ban on the West Coast would also significantly increase the risk of accidents in the region. This moratorium was established in 1972 following a unanimous vote in the House of Commons, notably because navigation in the Hecate Strait is highly dangerous. Its removal would also hinder the creation of a marine conservation area in the Great Bear Sea, a project our government has been actively developing with Indigenous partners and the government of British Columbia for several years, protecting more than 100,000 km of this ecologically sensitive region. We cannot hope to decarbonize our economy without decarbonizing the electricity sector. The proposal to exempt Alberta from the Clean Electricity Regulations in exchange for stricter industrial carbon pricing rules and the Pathways project is, in my view, a serious mistake. As shown in the analysis submitted to the House of Commons, without this regulation, the electricity sector-which has halved its pollution over the past 20 years-would return to an upward emissions trajectory. This regulation also saves lives by reducing air pollution, generates over $3 billion in healthcare savings, and ultimately reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 182 million tonnes. Finally, over the past few months, several elements of the climate action plan I worked on as Minister of the Environment have been, or are about to be, dismantled: the consumer carbon pricing, the Zero Emission Vehicle standard, the oil and gas sector emissions cap, the framework to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, and the Clean Electricity Regulations. In my view, these measures remain essential to our climate action plan. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the citizens of Laurier-Sainte-Marie for the trust they have placed in me since 2019. I will continue to represent them as their Liberal Member of Parliament with dedication. I also thank the Prime Minister for the honor of serving in his cabinet and as his lieutenant in Quebec. When I entered politics, it was because I had a deep conviction that I could make a difference in fighting climate change and protecting our environment. My commitment to leaving a better world for the future of our children and our planet remains unchanged. Steven Guilbeault Member of Parliament for Laurier-Sainte-Marie
November 27, 2025 at 10:30 PM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
this isn’t limited to Alberta.
therealelaschuk.bsky.social Steve Elaschuk @therealelaschuk.bsky.social · 5d
Alberta has been under the thumb of evangelical Texas oilmen from almost our inception as a province. It’s going to take an awful lot of work to counter all those decades and decades of indoctrination by US influence and oil company propaganda that has so thoroughly infected the minds of generations
November 28, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Reposted by karen ward
terrilltf.bsky.social
Update. Another 100 was donated. They only have $225 remaining. Please share and donate if you’re able to. They’re getting closer. Anything helps.
terrilltf.bsky.social Terrill Tailfeathers @terrilltf.bsky.social · 13h
This is very urgent! Sharing here too. There’s a Native person with disabilities from Calgary that reached out and they’re almost getting evicted. They need $535 by Monday or they’re out on the street. I’m putting out my links for them. Please donate what you can. PayPal/etransfer [email protected]
November 28, 2025 at 3:17 AM