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.

    Trump Designates Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction

    On December 15, President Donald Trump issued an executive order designating fentanyl “and its ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Wisconsin Weighs Extra Prison Time for Drug Violations Near Shelters

    Wisconsin legislators are considering a bill that would increase the maximum prison term for ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    DOJ Opens Wildcard Investigation Into Colorado Prisons, Youth Centers

    The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has announced a special investigation into conditions ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    The Campaign to Ban 7-OH and “Gas Station Drugs” Shouldn’t Take Long

    The more people become interested in banning 7-hydroxymitragynine, better-known as 7-OH, the more we’re ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    NJ May Expand Civil Commitment to Anyone Accused of Recent Overdose

    New Jersey legislators are considering a proposal to require involuntary commitment for any overdose ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Fentanyl Pill Purity Has Dropped by Nearly Half Since 2024, Per DEA Data

    On December 3, the Drug Enforcement Administration launched Fentanyl Free America, “a comprehensive enforcement ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Prisoners Sue Aramark, Contractor for Both Kitchen Service and Commissary

    Commissary vendors, which provide the food and hygiene items sold to incarcerated people at ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Trump Revives SUPPORT Act Funding Treatment and Recovery Programs

    The federal government has enacted the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Oklahoma Bill Proposes Reimbursing Homeowners for Nearby Homelessness

    Oklahoma Senator Julie Daniels (R) has proposed legislation that would allow certain residents in ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    FCC Moves Forward With Prison Cell Phone Signal-Jamming

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving right along in its bid to cut ...

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    Kastalia Medrano