Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 143672025-23417
Designating Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
Primary source
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Published
December 18, 2025
Signed
December 15, 2025
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 241 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)</title>
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[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 [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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. 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;
(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
(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.
(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.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 15, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-23417
Filed 12-17-25; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4410-CW-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 18, 2025.
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