Tomorrow is Fentanyl Awareness Day.

Tomorrow represents an important opportunity to remember the victims of fentanyl poisoning and educate people in our communities about the deadly threat that fentanyl poses to the national security, health, and safety of the American people.

Press Release 

DEA Recognizes National Fentanyl Awareness Day WASHINGTON – DEA is proud to join “Song for Charlie” and many of our valued law enforcement, public health, and non-profit partners in recognizing National Fentanyl Awareness Day. Tomorrow represents an important opportunity to remember the victims of fentanyl poisoning and educate people in our communities about the deadly threat that fentanyl poses to the national security, health, and safety of the American people. One year ago, on the first National Fentanyl Awareness Day, DEA opened the Faces of Fentanyl exhibit at DEA Headquarters—a wall in DEA’s West Building that displays the photos of those who lost their lives to fentanyl poisoning. The memorial started with 100 photos; over the past year, Americans from across the country have sent DEA more than 5,000 photos. It reflects the reality that fentanyl is killing Americans from all walks of life, in every state and community in this country. The youngest person on the wall is Forever 17-months old. The oldest is Forever 70 years old. The Faces of Fentanyl exhibit has become a safe and compassionate space for grieving families impacted by fentanyl to visit when in the Washington, D.C., area. To mark National Fentanyl Awareness Day 2023, the DEA Museum and the Faces of Fentanyl exhibit will have extended hours on Tuesday, May 9, from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. “Fentanyl is the greatest threat to Americans today. It kills more Americans between the ages of 18 to 45 than terrorism, than car accidents, than cancer, than COVID. It kills nearly 200 Americans every day. And the number of children under 14 dying from fentanyl poisoning has increased at an alarming rate,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “The two drug cartels responsible for bringing fentanyl into the United States—the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels—are intentionally driving addiction by selling fake pills and hiding fentanyl in other drugs, and they are reaching our kids through using social media platforms. I encourage you to use this day to talk to your families about the dangers of fentanyl and have an important conversation with your kids about who they are communicating with on social media.”