DEA Museum and Visitor Center

Definitely worth an hour or two if you can make their pretty restricted hours of operation. Only open Tuesday-​Friday 10am-​4pm, closed federal holidays. It’s free too. I visited on a random Friday I had off from work around 1pm and there were a few other people in the museum, but my feeling is it never gets very crowded. For a location reference point, it’s right across from the Pentagon City mall. There is an audio tour option which I would have done if my battery had been higher than 50%. You go to a website and access the audio tour through there– no wifi available and no headphones are given out. They basically have three current exhibits: «Illegal drugs in America», «Good medicine, bad behavior», and «Drugs:costs and consequences». The «Illegal drugs in America» basically goes through the decades outlining the history of drugs, drug abuse, and drug law enforcement. It starts with the opium wars and how opium became popular and imported from Asia and spans all the way to more recent Narco trafficking and prescription drug abuse. Surprisingly, it’s not obnoxiously akin to a «don’t do drugs» ad and is just more factual. They have some interesting things on display: weapons, confiscated evidence, paraphanelia, law enforcement badges, and even a part of an underground trafficking tunnel. «Good medicine, bad behavior» basically displays the prescription drug epidemic and features pharmacies through the decades and lengthy displays on how the body reacts to prescription drugs. It also features obituaries from teens/​early 20s individuals who were prescribed too much and died. This exhibit was more an ad to discourage drug use, and I, personally, just skimmed this exhibit. The «drugs costs and consequences» is more geared towards kids. Remember the DARE program? This is pretty much what the exhibit is in a nutshell. Anyways, I wouldn’t go out of your way to visit here and I was really only impressed with the first exhibit, however, I’m glad I can now say I saw this museum after walking by it countless times.

This is a cute little museum that basically tells you about the history of drugs and drug busts. Since it’s free, I’d say it’s worth an afternoon of your time. It’s educational but not obnoxiously so.

We came on a weekday when it opened at 10am, and it wasn’t crowded at all, so that was nice. Like others have said, this is a pretty quick visit. I took the time to try to read as much as I could, and I still got through everything in about an hour and a half. I’m about to graduate pharmacy school, so some of the content (like how the drugs act and the history of pharmacies) isn’t very new to me, but I thought the history of drug abuse was informative and interesting. It’s free, so worth stopping by if in the area and have a little time.

This is a great introduction to drug addiction, opium war, drug trafficking, and how pharmacy has changed. They also include some artifacts that have been confiscated by the DEA in the past. While this museum is quite small, it is a great 1 – 1.5 hour visit if you’re in the area and taking the time to read through the descriptions. The exhibit is suitable for 10+ years olds. The day I went, there were a LOT of students on field trips visiting so it appears to be frequented often. Staff was friendly and as a visiting pharmacy student, they also offered speakers if I scheduled a tour in advanced. I parked across at the Fashion Mall which was reasonable in price– $ 2 for less than 2 hours and $ 3 for up to 3 hours!

Very small, it should be relabelled an exhibit, as it is def. not a museum imo. Very informative though, esp. if you have an interest in this field. Nice staff. You can read everything in probably under an hour, so take a gander!

This museum was only a 10 minute drive out of the city and definitely worth the trip. Weird old paraphernalia from the drug days of past accompanies by lots of informative pictures and videos. I went with my family and it took about one hour to see everything. Parking isn’t the greatest, Costco parking lot is nearby for a minimal fee.

My last assignment lasted over 5 years and was at building 700 Lincoln Place which houses the museum which is located on the ground floor. I retired and moved on.
I never visited our museum. Why? I have no answer.
However, today thanks to my lovely bride, who forced me back into the building, I finally visited the museum.
Really glad I did. It is a well planned and highly informative.
If your in the area recommend you stop by.

Let me first say I was drug here against my will (no pun intended). My bf had to do a class project that had him here and man it was bor-​ing. The security was crazy tight getting in so don’t bring anything you might have to explain or might get you stopped at the airport. I always notice the closer I get to DC when visiting museums the more over-​the-​top the security is.
This museum is about the drug infiltration into the United States and how it has shaped our law tactics, cultural outlook, and the consequences/​effects it has had overall on our society. There’s a MP3 player you can take along with you to hear everything about the museum as you walk along from exhibit to exhibit. This was more helpful than I’d like to admit.
The exhibits themselves are pretty creative and I did enjoy all the photography shots and artifacts from the early 1900s to current time.
If you want to scare your children into not doing drugs this is a good stepping stone but if you’re not in need of this sort of education I feel like Wikipedia or an A&E special might be able to do the same trick.

I came here a few weeks ago. It was okay. But felt like one big adult version of DARE (google it). They talked a lot about why drugs are bad, but focused little on present attempts to legalize marijuana or why it was also thought of as being positive. If you are in the area, check it out for an hour or two!

«I want Americans to realize that, although they may not use drugs, everyone is impacted by drug use in this country,» DEA Administrator Karen Tandy (’03 -’07)
I love these tangible, intimate experiences. While the Washington, D.C. museums get all the glory, Northern Virginia makes up for it in heart. So, this isn’t the Smithsonian– get over it. The downtown museums tend to be time intensive and feature a smörgåsbord of topics. This museum is easily digested and can be experienced on a leisurely lunch break, but is best experienced if you allow more than an hour to peruse. This museum certainly makes use of its space and there is something lurking around every bend.
The museum opens like a storybook and reads like a Dan Brown novel. There’s plenty of history, a little suspense and there’s plenty of stuff that makes you realize that there is more to the DEA than what you saw on Breaking Bad.
The first chapter opens with a storefront that symbolizes the changing face of main street America over the decades. Travel down the road from the 1920’s and 30’s apothecaries, the head shops of the 60’s and 70s, the crack houses of the 1980’s and onto a modern marajuana vending machine that was disguised as medicinal, but was owned and operated by people who did not don the caduceus symbol.
From there, expect to be whisked through the decades of illicit drug use and see the evolution of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Learn about the Anglo-​Chinese Opium wars, find out why the Bayer company used heroin for medicinal purposes, see pieces of The World Trade Center up close and discover why the world once considered cocaine to be a «wonder drug.» You can also expect to learn how the DEA works to regulate new and perspective drugs and how the DEA and forensic scientists are MFEO. (Meant For Each Other.)
Celebrities and athletes are not immune to overdoses or prosecutions and feature prominently throughout the decades. Read about people like Janis Jopplin, Jack Kerouac, Len Bias, Kurt Cobain and Jerry Garcia while hearing clips of the famous, and sometimes infamous, Billie Holiday. It’s reported that Jimi Hendrix’s people weren’t too enthusiastic about his induction into this particular «hall of fame.»
Along the way you’ll see various pieces of seized property and clothing worn by agents who were behind various sting operations. Who knew that DEA agents were so pimp back in the day? We’re talking fur coats and green platform shoes that would make Superfly envious.
Verdict: Compact, interactive and impactful museum, fresh from a $ 400,000 renovation, patiently awaits the honor of your presence. Currently it’s only open M-​F so plan accordingly.

Small but cool museum for DEA history. One of the little known places in DC. Close to the Pentagon or Pentagon City Metro. Good gift shop.

This is a small museum but worth a look if you happen to be nearby. The website said it has recently been renovated so I don’t know what it was like before. It does a good job of going through the history of drugs in the US. They have attempted to make some of the exhibits interactive but this museum is definitely better suited for adults that have some time to kill. Their honor wall for agents that have died in the line of duty is very well done and the gift shop is small but has some good stuff. The entrance is a little hard to find, it is directly across from Macy’s and not on Army Navy.

You’d think with a $ 2.4 billion budget the DEA could pull off cool museum, but no.
The DEA formed in 1973 but the museum provides little coverage of the past decade. Particularly absent are changing perspectives on legality and potential medical benefits of marijuana and hallucinogens. No matter one’s personal history with drugs, these would be pretty interesting things to learn about.
I get it — controlling controlled substances is their mandate — but these issues were mostly discussed in terms of their eventual debunking. The vibe was something between McGruff the Crime Dog and Nancy Reagan’s «Just Say No» campaign.
Lastly, there are no docents, and a sad little store staffed by a disinterested employee.

I guess I expected more of an interaction, but overall it was very informative. It was a big commercial to not do drugs basically. Wanted to see more interaction with how to DEA solves cases rather than a history of drugs.

Wonderful small museum in Arlington. Entrance is actually on Hayes even though the address is Army Navy. Cool display on history of drug abuse as well as drug seeking behaviors and physiology. Impressive wall of fame showing DEA agents who died in the line of duty. Gift shop is extensive with good quality shirts. The lady who worked there was pleasant but seemed pre occupied with reading her novel. No public parking lot and you either need to find street parking or park at Costco or Nordstrom.

So if you’re ever running really early to pick up someone from Reagan National or you just happen to find yourself wandering the streets, stop in to waste a few. Not sure I would have ever stopped in here other than that I needed to kill some time before a flight arrived… but needless to say I went in. The museum traces the history of drug enforcement on opium trafficking… Interesting huh? Honestly the best part is a simulated head shop with a huge bong name The Tokemaster. Hey everyone has their opinions of drug use and we must fight the fight blah blah blah… Only improvements I could see is possibly letting them jam that tokemaster in my mouth and let me work it like a Vuvuzela until they funnel us tourists into the lobby to serve a healthy dose of funyons and golden grahams. Grubs~