Kastalia Medrano

Kastalia is Filter‘s deputy editor. She previously worked at half a dozen mainstream digital media outlets and does not recommend the drug war coverage at any of them. For a while she was a syringe program peer worker in NYC, where she did outreach hep C testing and navigated participants through treatment. She also writes with Jon Kirkpatrick.

SAMHSA Rolls Out Funds for OUD Meds, Says That’s Not Harm Reduction

On July 6, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced approximately $281.25 million in funding for 15 federal…

July 7, 2026

BOP to Close Six Prisons, as Trump Pushes Agency Deeper Into Chaos

The federal Bureau of Prisons plans to permanently close six facilities, citing extreme understaffing and “decades of deferred maintenance." The…

July 6, 2026

Of Course 7-OH and Cychlorphine Fit Schedule I Criteria. All New Drugs Do.

The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to order emergency placements of 7-OH, cychlorphine and multiple substances related to each in Schedule…

July 2, 2026

DHS Still Doesn’t Know What Its Fentanyl Seizures Actually Do

In December 2022, the Department of Homeland Security was required to create a data collection program for its fentanyl operations…

June 30, 2026

If the DEA Gets Bad Press for Not Seizing Fentanyl, the DEA Still Wins

In the week since the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal separately reported on the Drug Enforcement Administration allowing certain fentanyl…

June 29, 2026

DEA Plans Emergency Ban for O-DSMT, Active Compound in Tramadol

On June 24 the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it's preparing to temporarily place synthetic opioid O-desmethyltramadol (O-DSMT) in Schedule…

June 25, 2026

SAMHSA Pubs Surprisingly Harm Reduction-y Guide for Pharmacists Prescribing Bupe

On June 22 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration published a resource document covering the role of pharmacists…

June 23, 2026

Supreme Court Rejects Gun Ban for Certain People Using Certain Drugs

On June 18, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot automatically ban people who use drugs from owning firearms.…

June 22, 2026

Overdose Death Data Patterns Emerge as Crisis Surges in Western States

The United States overdose crisis appears to be separating into regional crises on different trajectories, as a wave of fentanyl-involved…

June 18, 2026

FDA Approves 4 Mg Rextovy as Third Over-the-Counter Naloxone Product

The Food and Drug Administration has granted over-the-counter (OTC) approval to Rextovy, a 4 mg naloxone nasal spray product manufactured…

June 17, 2026