United States Drug Enforcement Administration

OMAHA, Neb. –The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proudly joins community organizations, law enforcement agencies and public health partners in recognizing National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Tuesday, April 29. Fentanyl is the greatest drug threat facing the United States as drug-related overdoses remain the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18-44.

The fentanyl crisis has touched every corner of the country and the Midwest is not immune.  In 2023, more than 105,000 Americans died from drug poisonings with nearly 70 percent of those deaths attributed to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts a 17.4 percent decline in drug overdose deaths year-over-year in Nebraska, while nationally, a 26.5% decline in drug overdose deaths year-over-year is predicted. Still, the DEA encourages communities to remain vigilant about the risks involved with synthetic drugs and the extreme threat of fentanyl in our communities.

“Countless families across the nation sit down at dinner each night with an empty chair at the table,” DEA Omaha Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Rafael Mattei said. “A loved one was taken too soon by a substance so potent and yet so small, it can fit on the tip of a pencil. National Fentanyl Awareness Day provides us with a time to sound the alarm once again to the dangers of this drug.”

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just two milligrams, the equivalent of a few grains of salt—is a potentially lethal dose. The DEA continues to see fentanyl in fake pills made to look like prescription medications including oxycodone (Percocet®), alprazolam (Xanax®) and hydrocodone (Vicodin ®). The only safe medications are ones that come from licensed and accredited medical professionals.

Social media and encrypted communication platforms remain highly utilized resources by cartels, their members and their associates to sell pills and powders that are advertised as legitimate medications or other substances but contain fentanyl.

The DEA encourages people to Join in the Fight to Save Lives by using social media to help spread awareness through photos, reels, and information sharing and tag #NationalFentanylAwarenessDay #DEAHQ, #DEAOmahaDiv, #OnePillCanKill and #JustKnow.

For more information on fentanyl, visit DEA’s One Pill Can Kill Campaign at www.dea.gov/onepill.  The materials on this website are available for public use. 

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