United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration recognizes National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day by joining the dedicated voices who continue to raise awareness in an effort to prevent the fentanyl poisonings devastating families across the country. On Monday, August 21 the DEA Museum will open with extended hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for public viewing of the Faces of Fentanyl exhibit, which commemorates lives lost by fentanyl.

DEA is proud to support the efforts of all the organizations working tirelessly to amplify and increase awareness of the highly addictive and dangerous drugs containing fentanyl - including the Alexander Neville Foundation, Blue Plaid Society, Facing Fentanyl, Voices for Awareness, and V.O.I.D., among others.

“Spreading awareness about the dangers and deadly realities of fentanyl is critically important in this fight to save lives,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “Fentanyl remains the most dangerous drug threat facing our country. The dedicated men and women of the DEA know their job is far from over. DEA will continue to increase outreach and education efforts with our valued community partners. All Americans play a critical role in spreading awareness about the dangers and deadly realities of fentanyl."

In 2022, DEA seized more than 58.3 million pills containing fentanyl and more than 13,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. This equates to nearly 387.9 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl that never reached our communities. We continue to seize fentanyl at record rates and recently added a regularly updated counter to DEA.gov so the public can track DEA’s fentanyl pills and powder seizures.     

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It is inexpensive, widely available, highly addictive, and comes in a variety of colors, shapes and forms – including powder and pills.  Drug traffickers are increasingly mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs to drive addiction and create repeat business. Many victims of fentanyl poisoning were unaware they ingested fentanyl.    

According to the CDC, an estimated 110,511 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and poisonings in 2022, with almost 70 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Only two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose.

Information and free resources, including the One Pill Can Kill partner toolkit, are available at DEA.gov/onepill.

For more information about DEA’s Faces of Fentanyl exhibit visit including the address, security rules and procedures, and regular hours of operation please visit www.dea.gov/fentanylawareness.

If you are interested in submitting a photograph of a loved one lost to fentanyl, please email their name, age, and photo to fentanylawareness@dea.gov, or post a photo and their name to social media using the hashtag #NationalFentanylAwarenessDay.