Tessie Castillo

    Tessie is an international journalist and author from Raleigh, North Carolina, whose writing explores criminal justice, drug policy and harm reduction. Her first book, Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row, offers a searing portrait of men on North Carolina’s Death Row and the broken systems that put them there. Sign up for her newsletter to receive her latest articles.

    Women Who Use Drugs: Challenges Demand Self-Led Harm Reduction

    Bree Cassell first injected heroin when she was 15 years old. Despite wanting to ...

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    Drug Paraphernalia Laws: The “Swiss Army Knife” of the Drug War

    On June 7, 2018 Jessica* was sitting behind a church in Fayetteville, North Carolina, ...

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    Will Women of Color Leading Nonprofits Drive Deeper Equity?

      The reign of the middle-aged white man is over,” declared House of Cards ...

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    Tessie Castillo
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    “Exhilarating”—The Life of a Career Drug Dealer Illustrates Hard Truths

    Casper has lived a life out straight out of Pulp Fiction. Over a 26-year ...

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    Tessie Castillo
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    Cops in Harm Reduction: An Insult? Or Incremental Positive Change?

    Peter Sadler looked like a lost member of the Beastie Boys, but as soon ...

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    Tessie Castillo
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    Why Drug Dealers Are the Wrong People to Blame for the Overdose Crisis

    Tyrique Wise was working at his self-owned painting and pressure washing business in Southern ...

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    Tessie Castillo
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    The Invisible Majority: People Whose Drug Use Is Not Problematic

    For years, Mark* woke up each morning, made breakfast for his two young children, ...

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    Tessie Castillo
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