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.

    Michigan Will Again Try to Legalize Its Rising Number of Syringe Programs

    Michigan, where syringe service programs (SSP) have been rapidly expanding yet operate in a ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Some States Try to Ban 7-OH, Others to Regulate Kratom. Some Try Both.

    On October 27, New Jersey Senator Shirley K. Turner (D) introduced a bill that ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    FCC Raises Prison and Jail Phone Call Pricing—Higher Than It Said It Would

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved its proposal to nearly double the prices ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    MA Overdose Bills Signal Push Toward Nalmefene, Civil Commitment

    Massachusetts is considering multiple proposals that, taken together, would make the landscape of overdose ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Indivior Isn’t Done With Opvee, the Overdose Antidote That’s Not Narcan

    Less than two months after an investigation into deceptive marketing prompted Indivior Inc. to ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    SNAP Benefits Stop Amid Shutdown—and New Rules Restricting Eligibility

    The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not issue November benefits to the ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Maine, Where Prisoners Cast Absentee Ballots, May Soon Require ID to Vote

    On November 4, Maine voters will decide whether the state will begin requiring residents ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    Florida Prisoner Bill of Rights Faces House Subcommittee Hurdle, Again

    Legislators are weighing a proposal to establish a bill of rights for people in ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    House Resumes Push to Call Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction

    In Ohio, legislation that urges the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate non-pharmaceutical fentanyl ...

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    Kastalia Medrano

    FCC Reveals Plan to Nearly Double Price Caps for Prison, Jail Phone Calls

    After weeks of hinting at a forthcoming proposal that could upend the ongoing battle ...

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    Kastalia Medrano