United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will recognize National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day on Thursday, August 21, joining the hundreds of thousands of voices raising awareness to confront the deadliest drug crisis in U.S. history. 

The DEA Museum will extend its operating hours this coming Thursday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to commemorate National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. The Faces of Fentanyl memorial exhibit is a physical display of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives to a fentanyl poisoning or overdose. On average, DEA receives 150 photo submissions per month.  The project launched in May 2022 and today includes more than 6,400 photos. This past April an interactive kiosk and webpage were added to expand the reach of the exhibit. 

Spreading awareness through education is an integral part of DEA’s core mission. 

“Fentanyl claims American lives every single day, often without warning,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “DEA is proud to support the vital efforts of organizations dedicated to raising life-saving awareness. On this National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day, we call on every community to unite in honor of those we’ve lost by committing to the fight against fentanyl poisoning. No family should have to endure the devastating loss of a loved one to this deadly epidemic.”

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 80,000 people in the United States died of a drug overdose or poisoning in 2024. Per the CDC, from March 2024 to March 2025, drug related overdose deaths decreased approximately 25 percent from the same previous 12-month period. While this news is both encouraging and hopeful, the collaborative efforts to remove this poison from our communities while decreasing its demand must continue.

Already this year, DEA has seized more than 30 million fentanyl pills and 6,000 pounds of fentanyl powder.  In 2024, DEA seized more than 60 million fentanyl pills and nearly 8,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, which equates to more than 380 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl that DEA was able to keep out of our communities. The public can track DEA fentanyl seizures at DEA.gov.    

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. Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose. Nearly 70 percent of drug-related deaths last year involved a synthetic opioid, such as fentanyl.

Information and free resources, including the One Pill Can Kill partner toolkit and talking kits to help facilitate conversations with youth, are available at DEA.gov/onepill. 

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

Families interested in submitting a photograph for the Faces of Fentanyl exhibit can do so through the interactive webpage at www.dea.gov/facesoffentanyl. 

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