U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi recognizes National Fentanyl Awareness Day

OXFORD, MS - United States Attorney Scott F. Leary announced today that the Northern District of Mississippi, recognized the fourth annual National Fentanyl Awareness Day on April 29, 2026. This awareness helps to inform communities about the fentanyl crisis in the United States.

Our office is joining a coalition of issue area experts, corporations, nonprofits, schools, families and elected officials who are coming together to raise public awareness of the urgent problem: people are dying at alarming rates due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fake prescription pills. Organized by the national nonprofit Song for Charlie, National Fentanyl Awareness Day uses education as the first step in preventing tragic outcomes.

U.S. Attorney Leary stated, "In 2020, our borders opened up and fentanyl poured into our country. Within a year a thirty-dollar contraband fentanyl pill was selling on our streets for mere dollars. Fentanyl now shows up in all kinds of different drugs. Kids made the immature decision to take a pill that resulted in death. Tens of thousands of families throughout our nation were left devastated. Several things can be done now to slow this continued tragedy. First, close our border and slow the flow of fentanyl and illegal drugs onto our streets. Prosecute fentanyl traffickers to the full extent of the law. And finally, get the word out - recreational drug use can be fatal. The National Fentanyl Awareness Day is part of this response. The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi will do our part in putting these traffickers behind bars. Please join us in spreading the word about the dangers of drug use."

"We're encouraged by recent signs of progress in reducing overdose deaths," said Ed Ternan, co-founder of Song for Charlie. "But our work isn't done. With our expanded educational resources like our new film for teens, Real Talk about Fake Pills, we're working to reach every student, parent, family and community with the knowledge they need to navigate today's drug landscape safely. No family should lose a child because they didn't know a pill was fake."

Song for Charlie is the leading national, family-led nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about "fentapills"-fake pills made of fentanyl. Ed and Mary Ternan created Song for Charlie after losing their son Charlie to a fentapill in 2020. Song for Charlie partners with experts, educators, parents and other influencers to reach the most vulnerable group: young people between the ages of 13-24. Its programs highlight the emerging dangers of self-medication and casual drug use in the fentanyl era and encourage healthier strategies for coping with stress. For more information, please visit https://www.songforcharlie.org