Designating Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 241 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)]

[Presidential Documents]

[Pages 59365-59366]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2025-23417]

Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 241 / Thursday, December 18, 2025 /

Presidential Documents

[[Page 59365]]

Executive Order 14367 of December 15, 2025

Designating Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass

Destruction

By the authority vested in me as President by the

Constitution and the laws of the United States of

America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose and Policy. Illicit fentanyl is

closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic. Two

milligrams, an almost undetectable trace amount

equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt,

constitutes a lethal dose. Hundreds of thousands of

Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses.

The manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, primarily

performed by organized criminal networks, threatens our

national security and fuels lawlessness in our

hemisphere and at our borders. The production and sale

of fentanyl by Foreign Terrorist Organizations and

cartels fund these entities' operations--which include

assassinations, terrorist acts, and insurgencies around

the world--and allow these entities to erode our

domestic security and the well-being of our Nation

emisphere and at our borders. The production and sale

of fentanyl by Foreign Terrorist Organizations and

cartels fund these entities' operations--which include

assassinations, terrorist acts, and insurgencies around

the world--and allow these entities to erode our

domestic security and the well-being of our Nation. The

two cartels that are predominantly responsible for the

distribution of fentanyl in the United States engage in

armed conflict over territory and to protect their

operations, resulting in large-scale violence and death

that go beyond the immediate threat of fentanyl itself.

Further, the potential for fentanyl to be weaponized

for concentrated, large-scale terror attacks by

organized adversaries is a serious threat to the United

States.

As President of the United States, my highest duty is

the defense of the country and its citizens.

Accordingly, I hereby designate illicit fentanyl and

its core precursor chemicals as Weapons of Mass

Destruction (WMD).

Sec. 2. Implementation. The heads of relevant executive

departments and agencies (agencies) shall take

appropriate action to implement this order and

eliminate the threat of illicit fentanyl and its core

precursor chemicals to the United States. This includes

the following actions:

(a) the Attorney General shall immediately pursue

investigations and prosecutions into fentanyl

trafficking, including through criminal charges as

appropriate, sentencing enhancements, and sentencing

variances;

precursor chemicals to the United States. This includes

the following actions:

(a) the Attorney General shall immediately pursue

investigations and prosecutions into fentanyl

trafficking, including through criminal charges as

appropriate, sentencing enhancements, and sentencing

variances;

(b) the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the

Treasury shall pursue appropriate actions against

relevant assets and financial institutions in

accordance with applicable law for those involved in or

supporting the manufacture, distribution, and sale of

illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals;

(c) the Secretary of War and the Attorney General

shall determine whether the threats posed by illicit

fentanyl and its impact on the United States warrant

the provision of resources from the Department of War

to the Department of Justice to aid in the enforcement

of title 18 of the United States Code, as consistent

with 10 U.S.C. 282;

(d) the Secretary of War, in consultation with the

Secretary of Homeland Security, shall update all

directives regarding the Armed Forces' response to

chemical incidents in the homeland to include the

threat of illicit fentanyl; and

of the United States Code, as consistent

with 10 U.S.C. 282;

(d) the Secretary of War, in consultation with the

Secretary of Homeland Security, shall update all

directives regarding the Armed Forces' response to

chemical incidents in the homeland to include the

threat of illicit fentanyl; and

(e) to ensure the United States uses the full array

of appropriate counter-fentanyl tools, the Secretary of

Homeland Security, as consistent with applicable law

and in coordination with the heads of relevant

agencies, as appropriate, shall identify threat

networks related to fentanyl smuggling using

[[Page 59366]]

WMD- and nonproliferation-related threat intelligence

to support the full spectrum of counter-fentanyl

operations.

Sec. 3. Definitions. (a) ``Illicit fentanyl'' means

fentanyl that is manufactured, distributed, or

dispensed, or possessed with intent to manufacture,

distribute, or dispense in violation of section 401 and

406 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841,

846).

(b) ``Core precursor chemicals'' means the core

chemicals that create illicit fentanyl and its

analogues, such as Piperidone or other Piperidone-based

substances.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order

shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or

the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

substances.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order

shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or

the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with

applicable law and subject to the availability of

appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,

create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,

enforceable at law or in equity by any party against

the United States, its departments, agencies, or

entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any

other person.

(d) The costs for publication of this order shall

be borne by the Department of Justice.

(Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

December 15, 2025.

[FR Doc. 2025-23417

Filed 12-17-25; 11:15 am]

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