Jonathan Kirkpatrick

Harm Reduction for Short-Term Meth Withdrawal

Withdrawal from opioids is so thoroughly studied that the process is regularly referenced in media and pop culture. Many symptoms…

December 14, 2023

WA Prisons Still Using Drug Test Kits at Center of False-Positives Lawsuit

Sabastian Johnson had been unsuccessfully trying to get copies of a legal document related to his case into Washington Corrections…

December 4, 2023

We’ll Know Harm Reduction Is Mainstream Once Dr. Fauci Likes It

In 2018, the syringe service program (SSP) in Cabell County, West Virginia, was shuttered by the local health department. By…

November 27, 2023

Tennessee’s HIV Sex Offender Law Discourages Testing, Not Transmission

In the mid-'90s at Washington State Penitentiary, a corrections officer (CO) and I had been yelling at each other for…

November 2, 2023

Fentanyl Isn’t Being Cut Into the Cocaine Supply. Here’s Why.

Over the course of my 28 years in prison, I've known a lot of people who sold drugs. I sold…

October 31, 2023

WA Prisons Clear All Guards to Carry Narcan. Not All Intend to Do So.

Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) staff are now permitted to carry Narcan while on duty. Though the change is…

October 4, 2023

Seattle Recriminalizes Drug Use, Adds Arrest Alternatives It Won’t Pay For

On September 26, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (D) unveiled his proposed 2024 budget. It indicates the city will not be…

September 27, 2023

“Never Give Up”: Rep. Tarra Simmons on Clearing Her Felony Record

Washington State Representative Tarra Simmons (D), the first person convicted of a felony to be elected to the state legislature,…

September 15, 2023

Learning to Do HIV Peer Education in the ’90s, by Unlearning What to Say

In the summer of 1992, a few weeks after I'd learned I had HIV, I was down at the local…

August 24, 2023

How We Clean Knife Wounds in Prison, Without Going to Medical

[Read Part 1 of this story here] Fighting is a fact of life in prison. I've spent most of the…

August 14, 2023