Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin alongside Virginia leaders and fentanyl families at fentanyl overdose reduction milestone event on November 13, 2025. Official Photo from the Office of Governor Glenn Youngkin.
RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady of Virginia Suzanne S. Youngkin joined a wide array of stakeholders and allies today at the Patrick Henry Building to celebrate the nearly 59 percent reduction in fentanyl-involved overdose deaths in the Commonwealth of Virginia today versus January 2022.
“With an average of five Virginians dying each day in 2022, we launched a comprehensive effort to stop the scourge of fentanyl. Today, Virginia leads the nation and has cut fentanyl overdose deaths by more than half,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Over the past four years, we have prioritized interruption of the drug trade through the Virginia State Police led Operation FREE; enacted a new ban on pill presses and increased punishment of fentanyl dealers with a felony when sales result in fatal overdoses; educated Virginians about the dangers of fentanyl through the First Lady’s It Only Takes One initiative and the Attorney General’s One Pill, Can Kill efforts; and equipped Virginians to save someone’s life with the mass distribution of naloxone. All of this is supported by our Right Help, Right Now behavioral health transformation — delivering crisis care to vulnerable Virginians.”
“Today we commemorate the profound, positive impact of a collective effort to protect Virginians from the dangers of deadly fentanyl,” said First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin. “It Only Takes One is an awareness campaign built on the idea that one mistake can take a life, but one caring conversation can save a life. We are forever grateful to those having life-saving conversations and doing the hard work of prevention.”
“More Virginians are alive today because of Governor Youngkin’s leadership and our Commonwealth’s multifaceted approach to combating the fentanyl and addiction epidemic. The greatest act of strength for anyone battling addiction is asking for help — and Virginia stands ready with meaningful support and resources,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “I am incredibly proud of the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection team, whose relentless work has secured more than $1 billion from drug manufacturers and distributors to help communities reduce, prevent, and treat addiction at the local level. However, we cannot afford to slow our efforts. Now is the time to double down on our commitment to fighting addiction and supporting every Virginian on the path to recovery.”
“Fentanyl is driving the worst drug crisis of our time, but we will not allow this threat to persist,” said U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator Terry Cole. “Virginia’s success proves that when law enforcement, prevention, and public health efforts move with one purpose, lives are saved. DEA is proud to support Virginia’s achievement, and we are working to bring this same unity of effort to every community in America. Together, we will make this nation fentanyl free.”
“This milestone represents the result of an unprecedented, unified commitment to protecting Virginians,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Marcus Anderson. “Cutting fentanyl-related overdose deaths by nearly 59 percent is not an accident, it is the direct outcome of disciplined enforcement, strategic interdiction, and relentless coordination across federal, state, and local partners.”
“Behind every number is a life saved and a family spared unimaginable loss,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Janet V. Kelly. “Virginia’s success shows what’s possible when collaboration, compassion, and common sense drive action. This unified effort has turned the tide of fentanyl in our Commonwealth — and restored hope to countless Virginians.”
BY THE NUMBERS – Interrupt, Enhance, Educate, Equip
1. 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: 858.81 lbs
- Approximate Number of Fatal Overdoses: 87,516,298
- Number of Pills that can be Produced: 115,913,400
- Total Street Value of Pills: $3,986,020,540
- Total Arrests: 2,971
- Total Illicit Narcotics Recovered: 56,735 lbs
- Total Prescription Medication Taken Back: 35,619 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 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 1682 (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 (IOTO) – a comprehensive 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 an education program to warn young Virginians about the dangers of fentanyl.
- 163 Fentanyl Family Ambassadors
- 34 Fentanyl College Ambassadors at 11 Colleges and Universities
- 2,000 visitors average to the IOTO website per day – 250,000 visitors in 2025 alone
- Hosted monthly 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, Petersburg, and more.
- Public Service Announcement distributed to every TV and radio station in Virginia
- Paid digital ads targeted to key markets based on overdose data
- More than 50 million impressions through aggressive earned media campaign
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 over 430,000 doses of naloxone.
- Over 97,000 people trained by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and over 41,000 doses of naloxone distributed to trained individuals.
- Over 300 REVIVE! Trainers trained – so they can go train other people.
Governor Glenn Youngkin delivers remarks at fentanyl overdose re
Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin joined by Attorney General Jason Miyares, state leaders, and fentanyl college ambassadors at fentanyl overdose reduction milestone event on November 13, 2025. Official Photo from the Office of Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Read More: https://governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2025/november/name-1071326-en.html
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