Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced new data from the Virginia Department of Health Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Virginia declined 44 percent year over year and are down over 46 percent from its peak in 2021. In addition, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that between the 12-month periods ending November 2023 and November 2024, Virginia led the nation in year-over-year percentage declines in drug overdose deaths.
The Governor made the announcement on National Fentanyl Awareness Day and will discuss it at a press event at the Drug Enforcement Administration Headquarters in Arlington this afternoon.
“Overdose deaths skyrocketed across America and in Virginia driven primarily by illicit fentanyl flowing across our southern border. With an average of five dying Virginians each day, in 2022 we launched a comprehensive effort to stop the scourge of fentanyl, it’s working, and Virginia is leading,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Our approach stands on four principles: interrupt the drug trade, enhance penalties for drug dealers, educate people about the dangers of fentanyl, and equip them to save the life of someone in crisis.”
Governor Youngkin continued: “We’ve interrupted the drug trade by launching Operation FREE, an aggressive law enforcement partnership between federal, state, and local agencies to crack down on the drug trade, which has so far seized enough fentanyl to kill every Virginian ten-times over. We passed new laws banning pill presses, notifying parents of overdose in their child’s school and finally establishing a new felony to hold accountable drug dealers whose victims die from an overdose. The First Lady launched It Only Takes One, a comprehensive education and engagement initiative to give parents, family members, educators, and caretakers the knowledge they need to warn their loved ones about the dangers of fentanyl. And, as part of our Right Help, Right Now initiative we equipped Virginians with over 400,000 life-saving naloxone doses and trained nearly one-hundred thousand on how to use it to save someone who is overdosing.”
“There is much more work to be done, but all Virginians are grateful for the leadership of the First Lady and our Fentanyl Family Ambassadors, all of our state agencies, and our amazing federal partners including President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration,” Governor Youngkin concluded.
“The It Only Takes One fentanyl awareness initiative has a simple message — it only takes one mistake to take a life; but one conversation or intervention to save a life,” said First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin. “I am especially grateful to our Fentanyl Family Ambassadors, and all those in recovery, whose courage to share their personal stories has sparked awareness and change across the Commonwealth. While there is still much work ahead, today we celebrate the hope, progress, and lives saved through these collective efforts.”
“My sincere thanks goes out to First Lady Suzanne Youngkin for her leadership with It Only Takes One,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “Since September 2024, nearly five tons of fentanyl has crossed over our southern border — enough to kill over 5 billion people. Forty-two percent of the illicit pills tested by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration contained enough fentanyl to be considered a lethal dose. Yet Virginia’s historic drop in overdose deaths did not happen by chance. Our One Pill Can Kill initiative working alongside Ceasefire Virginia has done amazing work to inform parents about the depth of the crisis and the absolute need for vigilance if we are to continue saving lives. Thousands of Virginia teenagers and their families will never have to experience the heartbreak and tragedy of an overdose death thanks to Governor Youngkin’s leadership during a time of crisis. This National Fentanyl Awareness Day should be a moment to renew the charge and remember a basic fact — it only takes one.”
“The Virginia State Police, the Department of Corrections, and many valued state, local, and federal partners along with campus police departments are breaking down information silos and bringing the strength of their partnerships together to confront the fentanyl crisis head-on. More than 175 law enforcement departments are using multi-pronged approaches to public safety which are proving incredibly successful,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Terry Cole. “Through the efforts of the Commonwealth’s Operation FREE, Operation Bold Blue Line, the Violent Crime Reduction Strategy, Operation Ceasefire, It Only Takes One and One Pill Can Kill we have saved the lives of thousands of Virginians and made the Commonwealth a safer place to live and raise a family. Partnership matters. Leadership matters. Thank you, Governor Youngkin, for your leadership.”
“I want to commend the extraordinary leadership of Governor and Mrs. Youngkin, our Health and Human Resources agencies, and our Public Safety and Homeland Security agencies for their commitment to winning this all-out war against fentanyl,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Janet V. Kelly. “The Governor’s Right Help, Right Now initiative enabled Virginians struggling with substance use disorders to get the help they need when they need it. The First Lady’s It Only Takes One campaign raised awareness. And the Governor’s Reclaiming Childhood Task Force highlighted the dangerous role of social media in this epidemic. We will keep fighting until fentanyl is totally eradicated from our Commonwealth.”
“We are elated with these numbers,” said State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton, M.D. “Every life saved is a victory. These numbers reflect ongoing efforts by state agencies, community organizations and partners to address this deadly epidemic. Addressing mental health crisis through Right Help, Right Now, the ‘One Pill Can Kill’ education and awareness campaign, and Virginia Department of Health naloxone education and distribution programs have had a huge impact.”
“This is extraordinarily gratifying progress while fighting an enemy that has killed more Virginians than died in World War II,” said Dr. Colin Greene, Special Advisor on Opioid Response. “It is the sum of a whole-of-Commonwealth effort, both public and private, from federal, state, and local law enforcement to superb prevention programs and a marked increase in timely treatment through Right Help, Right Now, to improved availability of recovery support, to harm reduction and the distribution of life-saving naloxone. We have turned the tide in this battle and must now redouble our efforts to build on our success.”
The complete report from the Virginia Department of Health Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is available here.
BY THE NUMBERS – Interrupt, Educate, Equip
- Interrupt the Drug Trade and Give Law Enforcement More Tools: Operation FREE, an aggressive law enforcement partnership between federal, state, and local agencies to crack down on the drug trade (Note- numbers are Virginia specific):
- Fentanyl Seized: 794.51 lbs
- Approximate Number of Fatal Overdoses: 85,044,424
- Number of Pills that can be Produced: 112,688,470
- Total Street Value of Pills: $3,944,096,449
- Total Arrests: 2,579
- Total Illicit Narcotics Recovered: 55,350 lbs
- Total Prescription Medication Taken Back: 35,269 lbs
2. Enhance Penalties & Enforcement
- Banning Pill Presses – SB 469 (Obenshain) – Makes it a Class 6 felony for any person, except for permitted manufacturers, to possess, purchase, sell, give, distribute, or possess with intent to sell, give, or distribute an encapsulating machine or a tableting machine that manufactures, compounds, converts, produces, processes, prepares, or otherwise introduces into the human body a controlled substance.
- School Connected Overdoses –Executive Order 28, SB 1240 (Sturtevant), HB 2774 (Singh, Higgins, Coyner) – Requires public school principals and heads of private schools in the Commonwealth to report certain information to the parents of enrolled students within 24 hours of a confirmed or suspected school-connected student overdose.
- New Felony Charge for Drug Dealers Connected to Fatal Overdose – SB 746 (McDougle, DeSteph), HB 2657 (Thomas)- Provides that any person who knowingly, intentionally, and feloniously manufactures, sells, or distributes a controlled substance knowing that such controlled substance contains a detectable amount of fentanyl, including its derivatives, isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, and unintentionally causes the death of another person is guilty of involuntary manslaughter if (i) such death results from the use of the controlled substance and (ii) such controlled substance is the proximate cause of the death.
- Defining Fentanyl as “Weapon of Terrorism” – SB 1188 (Reeves) HB 1882 (Wyatt) – Includes any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, including its isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, as a weapon of terrorism for the purpose of defining terrorism offenses.
3. Educating: It Only Takes One – a comprehensive education and engagement initiative to give parents, family members, educators, and caretakers the knowledge they need to warn their loved ones about the dangers of fentanyl.
- 100 Individuals in Fentanyl Families Ambassadors Program.
- Hosted IOTO and REVIVE training events in targeted areas like Richmond City, Norfolk, Fairfax County, Virginia Beach, Henrico County, Portsmouth, Chesterfield County, Newport News, Prince William County, Hopewell, and Petersburg.
4. Equipping: Right Help, Right Now REVIVE! Training – a program to increase the availability of life-saving naloxone and provide trainings to as many Virginians as possible on how to use it to save the life of someone experiencing an overdose.
- Since July 2022, VDH has distributed 388,584 doses of naloxone.
- 96,818 people trained by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and over 41,350 doses of naloxone distributed to trained individuals.
- Over 300 REVIVE! Trainers trained – so they can go train other people.