Executive Order 14367: Designating Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
An executive order designates illicit fentanyl and the core chemicals used to make it as weapons of mass destruction. Executive Order 14367 was signed at the White House on Dec. 15, 2025, and the Federal Register published it on Dec. 18, 2025.
The order says illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic. It states that two milligrams, which it describes as about 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is a lethal dose, and that hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses. It also says manufacture and distribution, mainly by organized criminal networks, threaten national security.
Heads of relevant executive departments and agencies must take appropriate action to put the order into effect and end the danger that illicit fentanyl and the chemicals used to produce it pose to the United States. The Attorney General must immediately pursue investigations and prosecutions of fentanyl trafficking, including criminal charges where appropriate and tools that can raise sentences. The Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury must pursue lawful actions against relevant assets and financial institutions linked to those who take part in or back the making, shipping, and selling of illicit fentanyl and those chemicals.
The Secretary of War and the Attorney General must decide whether the threat warrants resources from the Department of War for the Department of Justice to help enforce federal criminal law. The Secretary of War, after consulting the Secretary of Homeland Security, must update directives on how the armed forces respond to chemical incidents in the United States so those directives cover illicit fentanyl. The Secretary of Homeland Security, working with other agency heads as appropriate, must identify networks tied to fentanyl smuggling by using threat intelligence related to weapons of mass destruction and to stopping their spread.
The order defines illicit fentanyl as fentanyl that is made, distributed, or dispensed, or held with intent to do those things, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Core precursor chemicals are the main chemicals that create illicit fentanyl and similar compounds, such as piperidone or other piperidone-based substances.
The order does not revoke or amend an earlier order. It must be carried out consistent with applicable law and only if appropriations are available. It states that it does not create any right or benefit that a person can enforce in court against the United States or its agencies.