An executive order, signed and issued by U.S. President Donald Trump on 15 December 2025, officially designates illicit fentanyl and its principal precursor chemicals as Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD.
The order shifts the approach of the U.S. federal government to fentanyl from a strictly public health problem or narcotics issue to a main national security threat by likening the substance to a chemical weapon.
Below are the specific rationales:
• Lethality: The order notes that fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a traditional narcotic, stating that just 2 milligrams, or roughly 10–15 grains of salt, is a lethal dose.
• National Security: It identifies the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, primarily by organized criminal networks and cartels, as a threat to U.S. national security that fuels lawlessness and violence.
• Terrorism Financing: The order asserts that Foreign Terrorist Organizations use fentanyl sales to fund assassinations, insurgencies, and terrorist acts across the world.
• Domestic Threat: Moreover, beyond individual overdoses, the administration warns of the potential for fentanyl to be “weaponized for concentrated, large-scale terror attacks” against the United States.
The order directs several departments to take the following actions:
• Department of Justice: The Attorney General must pursue aggressive investigations and prosecutions. The order also directs the use of sentencing enhancements and variances for trafficking offenses.
• State and Treasury Departments: The executive order tasks both the State Department and the Treasury Department with targeting the assets and financial institutions of those involved in the manufacture or distribution of fentanyl and its precursors.
• Department of War: The Secretary of War and the Attorney General are directed to evaluate whether military resources should be provided to the DOJ for law enforcement. The Secretary of War must update all military directives regarding chemical incidents in the homeland.
• Department of Homeland Security: The executive order tasks Homeland Security with identifying smuggling networks using weapons of mass destruction and non-proliferation intelligence.
Note that the executive order specifically identifies illicit fentanyl and defines it as a substance manufactured or distributed in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. This excludes legal fentanyl used in medical settings.
It also identifies chemicals such as piperidone and other piperidone-based substances used to synthesize fentanyl as part of the core precursor chemical designation.
Nevertheless, by designating illicit fentanyl and its principal precursor chemicals as WMD, the executive order enables the second Trump administration to unlock military resources, apply global counter-terror tools, and heighten legal penalties.