ATLANTA — In an effort to warn about the dangers of fentanyl and drug overdoses, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration joined multiple law enforcement agencies and public health organizations for National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

The DEA says Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is “approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.”

“National Fentanyl Awareness Day serves as a time for communities across the nation to pause, remember the lives lost to this substance and reflect on ways we can push back against this lethal drug,” DEA St. Lous Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis said. “One life lost to fentanyl is one too many.”

National Fentanyl Awareness Day was first observed four years ago by parents who lost their loved ones to drug overdoses.

Officials say the goal is to remind people of the many deaths that occur every year caused by Fentanyl and to spread awareness about Naloxone, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.

DEA officials say drug-related overdoses remains the leading cause of deaths among Americans ages 18-44 in the U.S.

DEA officials say progress has been made to reduce the number of overdose deaths in recent years.

CDC experts say a 26.5% decline in drug overdose deaths year-over-year is predicted nationally, according to provisional data.

However, Fentanyl remains the greatest drug threat facing the U.S.