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.

    Cychlorphine Is Not the Problem

    Over the course of 2026 a growing number of headlines have invited the public ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Beat Rx Opioid Racketeering Lawsuit

    A legal battle between Florida hospitals and the nation’s biggest pharmacy chains came to ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    Louisiana Urges More Oversight When Giving Opioid Funds Directly to Cops

    Louisiana, one of only two states that distributes opioid settlement funding directly to law ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    NIDA Explains Link Between Drugs and HIV, Without Mentioning Syringes

    On May 18, National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow published a blog ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    TrumpRx Now Features Generic Meds, Still Doesn’t Lower Drug Prices

    President Donald Trump’s direct-to-consumer website for pharmaceutical discounts is expanding significantly. On May 18, ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    DHS Releases Questionable Synthetic Opioid Guidance for First Responders

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released new guidance on synthetic opioids, intended ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    Nationally, Overdose Is Still Going Down. In the West, It’s Going Back Up.

    The latest overdose mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    GOP Eyes Death Penalty for Fentanyl Sale, as DOJ Calls for More Executions

    Under a proposed amendment to the Controlled Substances Act, defendants in federal overdose cases ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    DOT Backs “Witnessed” Urine Drug-Testing for Truck Drivers

    The Department of Transportation will require “directly observed” urine drug-testing in federal workplace situations ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano

    First Analysis of Free Prison Phone Calls Shows They Reduce Violence

    The first comprehensive report on the impact of offering free phone calls in United ...

    author_avatar
    Kastalia Medrano