The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will recognize National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day on Wednesday, August 21 with extended DEA Museum hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Faces of Fentanyl exhibit is one of the museum’s featured exhibits, and commemorates the lives lost to fentanyl. More than 5,000 faces are included in the exhibit at DEA Headquarters as a reminder of the lives lost and the work still left to be done to reverse course on the fentanyl crisis.   

Education and prevention are critical components of the DEA’s law enforcement mission, and we proudly 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.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts more than 107,543 people died last year from a drug poisoning or overdose, and according to a recent study by RAND Corporation, 42% of Americans know someone who has died from a drug-related death. 

“The shift to synthetic drugs has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis in United States’ history. The Faces of Fentanyl exhibit at DEA Headquarters stands as a solemn reminder of the toll this drug has taken on families all across this country, and it compels us to continue our fight against the cartels fueling this crisis,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “We hope you will join us on National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day by remembering and honoring the lives lost.” 

DEA seized more than 80 million fentanyl pills and 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2023.  That equates to more than 381 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl that DEA was able to keep out of our communities. In 2022, DEA seized 58.3 million fentanyl pills and more than 13,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. 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, 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.

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