Fentanyl is the #1 cause of fatal overdoses in Virginia.   1–5

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

Teens 15–19 had the highest rate of overdose ER visits in Virginia in 2025. 4

That’s around 1,300 in one year.

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

That’s almost half your friend group.

4 Virginians died from a drug overdose every day in 2024. 4

That’s 120 a month.

One overdose can have lifelong effects

An overdose is a traumatic experience for you and everyone in your circle. Just four minutes of total oxygen loss can lead to an anoxic brain injury and lifelong side effects. 6-8

Speech problems

Vision problems

Hearing difficulties

Memory loss

Coma or vegetative state

PSTD or severe anxiety

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. (2025, December 11). Drug overdose emergency department visits by health region.
4. The fentanyl crisis in Virginia
Virginia Department of Health. (2026, April 28). Drug overdose and substance use.
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. Symptoms of oxygen loss to the brain
Cleveland Clinic. (2024, March 8). Cerebral hypoxia.
7. Side effects of a nonfatal overdose
Zibbell, J., Howard, J., Duhart Clarke, S., Ferrell, A., & Karon, S. (2019, September 3). Non-fatal opioid overdose and associated health outcomes: Final summary report. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
8. Opioid overdose can cause brain hypoxia
Mosel, S. (2024, December 16). Brain damage from alcohol and drugs: Are the effects reversible? American Addiction Centers.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Fentanyl is colorless and odorless
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 2). Fentanyl facts.
12. Fentanyl is impossible to see, smell, and taste
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 2). Fentanyl facts.
13. You can’t test for fentanyl without fentanyl test strips
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 2). Fentanyl facts.
14. Fentanyl is about 100x more powerful than morphine
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 2). Fentanyl facts.
15. As of 2025, 1 in 3 pills can contain fentanyl
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (2026, January). Counterfeit pills fact sheet.
16. A few salt-sized grains of fentanyl are deadly
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). Facts about fentanyl.
17. 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.
18. All types of street drugs are laced with fentanyl
Northwestern University. (n.d.). Fentanyl overdose prevention.
19. Fentanyl is being laced in illicit pills and powders
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). The facts about fentanyl.
20. Fentanyl overdose can look like someone sleeping
Columbia University Irving Medical Center. (n.d.). Fentanyl overdose. ColumbiaDoctors.
21. How to spot signs of fentanyl overdose
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 8). Preventing opioid overdose.
22. Naloxone can reverse a fentanyl overdose
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (2026, January). Counterfeit pills fact sheet.
23. Fentanyl is mixed into street drugs because it’s cheap and powerful
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). Fentanyl.