Prince's photo added to DEA exhibit in memory of those who have died from fentanyl overdose

A photo of Prince, who died of an opioid overdose nearly seven years ago, has been added to "The Faces of Fentanyl" memorial at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Minnesota music legend's image went on display Monday at the agency's headquarters just outside Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Va.

It's captioned in the same fashion as the other photos on exhibit, with his first name and "Forever 57," signifying Prince's age when he died at his Chanhassen home from an accidental fentanyl overdose on April 21, 2016.

"The Faces of Fentanyl" memorial, which opened in May 2022, blankets numerous walls with about 2,000 photos that were sent to the agency by loved ones who lost someone to an overdose from the synthetic opioid.

Charles "Chazz" Smith said Tuesday that he submitted the 2013 photo of his cousin Prince for the exhibit because "we want to bring attention to the devastating effects of fentanyl on our society and the music industry in particular."

Others across the musical spectrum whose lives were claimed at least in part by fentanyl in recent years include rocker Tom Petty, rapper Mac Miller and country singer Luke Bell.

Also memorialized in the exhibit from the entertainment world are rapper Lil Peep and Gregory Tyree Boyce, an actor who appeared in the movie "Twilight," according to the DEA.

In January 2019, Smith appeared at the third annual Opioid Awareness Day at the State Capitol. Speakers, including several legislators, urged state leaders to hold companies that make highly addictive prescription drugs accountable for their role in the opioid addiction crisis that has gripped the nation for many years.

Since 2020, drug overdoses are now linked to more than 100,000 deaths a year nationally, with about two-thirds of them fentanyl-related, according to the latest federal data. That's more than 10 times as many drug deaths as in 1988, the height of the crack cocaine epidemic.

Fentanyl arrives in the U.S. mostly from Mexico and is mixed into supplies of other drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and counterfeit oxycodone pills. Some users seek it out. Others don't know they're taking it.

The investigation into Prince's death concluded that he likely took counterfeit Vicodin painkillers that actually contained fentanyl. Ingesting 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, meaning 1 gram could contain 500 lethal doses.

In April 2018, Carver County Attorney Mark Metz closed the two-year criminal investigation into Prince's death without filing any charges. Metz said that county, state and federal investigators were unable to develop "credible evidence" documenting the source of the fentanyl that killed the musician.