Fentanyl is the #1 cause of fatal overdoses in Virginia.   1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Fentanyl aka fent is a strong and deadly synthetic opioid. It can be laced in any pill or powder from friends or online without anyone knowing.

18,000 overdose-related ER visits happen every year  in Virginia. 3

That’s like a whole stadium of people.

2 in 5 people know someone who overdosed and died. 5

That’s almost half your friend group.

3 Virginians die from a fentanyl OD every day. 3

That’s 90 a month.

Find out why even one pill or bump could be a deadly dose

Know the risks

Sources
1. Rate of fatal fentanyl overdose
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, February 13). SUDORS dashboard: Fatal drug overdose data.
2. Preventable drug overdose deaths
National Safety Council. (n.d.). Drug overdoses. Injury Facts. 
3. Overdose deaths and emergency room visits in Virginia
Virginia Department of Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. (2025, April). Fatal drug overdose quarterly report, 4th quarter 2024. 

* Data reflects the Medical Examiner’s 2024 Q4 report and was current at the time of publication. As official figures are finalized, discrepancies may appear in other dashboards.
4. The fentanyl crisis in Virginia
Virginia Department of Emergency Management. (n.d.). Operation Free Virginia.
5. 2 in 5 people know someone who has died from overdose
RAND. (2024, February 21). More than 40 percent of Americans know someone who died of drug overdose; 13 percent say deaths have disrupted their lives.
6. Illicit pills can change hands 10 times
Mars, S. G., Rosenblum, D., & Ciccarone, D. (2019). Illicit fentanyls in the opioid street market: Desired or imposed?. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 114(5), 774–780.
7. Fentanyl is flooding the opioid supply
Rothberg, R. L., & Stith, K. (2018). Fentanyl: A whole new world?. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics: A Journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 46(2), 314–324.
8. Fentanyl is colorless and odorless
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (n.d.). Get informed, stay safe: Fentanyl in Los Angeles County.
9. Fentanyl is impossible to see, smell, and taste
Rigg, K. K., & Kusiak, E. S. (2023). Perceptions of fentanyl among African Americans who misuse opioids: Implications for risk reduction. Harm Reduction Journal, 20(1), 179.
10. You can’t test for fentanyl without fentanyl test strips
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 2). What You can do to test for fentanyl.
11. Fentanyl is about 50x more powerful than heroin
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 2). Fentanyl facts.
12. As of 2024, 1 in 2 pills can contain fentanyl
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). One pill can kill.
13. A few salt-sized grains of fentanyl are deadly
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). Facts about fentanyl.
14. Fentanyl is often mixed into counterfeit pills
Raheemullah, A., & Andruska, N. (2019). Fentanyl analogue overdose: Key lessons in management in the synthetic opioid age. Journal of Opioid Management, 15(5), 428–432.
15. All types of street drugs are laced with fentanyl
Northwestern University. (n.d.). Fentanyl overdose prevention.
16. Fentanyl is being laced in illicit pills and powders
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). The facts about fentanyl.
17. Fentanyl overdose can look like someone sleeping
Columbia University Irving Medical Center. (n.d.). Fentanyl overdose. Columbia Doctors.
18. How to spot signs of fentanyl overdose
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 8). Preventing opioid overdose.
19. Naloxone can reverse a fentanyl overdose
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 2). Lifesaving naloxone.