Privacy Policy

Last Updated: Tuesday December 14, 2021

Thank you for visiting the Get Smart About Drugs site and reviewing our Privacy Policy. We remind you that if you link to a site outside of the Get Smart About Drugs site, you are subject to the policies of the new site.

PRIVACY

Here is how we handle information about your visit to our Web site:

A. Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you visit our site to read or download information, we collect and store the following information about your visit:

  • The name of the Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you are connecting from a university's domain) and the IP address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you are using the Internet) from which you access our site;
  • The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
  • The date and time you access our site;
  • The Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to our site; and
  • The pages you visit and the information you request.

This information is primarily collected for statistical analysis and technical improvements to the site. This government computer system uses software programs to create summary statistics, which may be used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. In certain circumstances, however, we may take additional steps to identify you based on this information and we may share this information, including your identity, with other government agencies.

B. If You Send Us Personal Information

You do not have to provide any personal information to visit this Web site. If you choose to provide us with personal information, such as by sending a message to an e-mail address on this Web site or by filling out a form and submitting it through our Web site, we will use that information to respond to your message or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication. If you submit your resume to us electronically we will use your personal information to consider your application for employment. DEA does not collect or use information for commercial marketing.

We may share information you give us with contractors acting on our behalf or with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency. In other limited circumstances, such as responses to requests from Congress and private individuals, we may be required by law to disclose information you submit. If you provide comments in response to a request for public comments we may make those comments as well as your identity available to the public in a publication or by posting them on our Web site. Where possible we may give you more specific guidance at the point of collection regarding how your personal information may be used or disclosed.

Electronically submitted information is maintained and destroyed according to the principles of the Federal Records Act and the regulations and records schedules of the National Archives and Records Administration and in some cases may be covered by the Privacy Act and subject to the Freedom of Information Act.  A discussion of the FOIA can be found at https://www.justice.gov/oip/freedom-information-act-5-usc-552  and a discussion about the Privacy Act can be found at http://www.justice.gov/opcl/privacyact1974.htm.

Remember that e-mail is not necessarily secure against interception. If your communication is sensitive or includes personal information you may prefer to send it by postal mail instead.

C. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

The Drug Enforcement Administration is especially concerned about protecting children’s privacy. We hope parents and teachers are involved in children’s Internet explorations. It is particularly important for parents to guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information online. DEA does not require children to reveal any information that could personally identify them.

We believe in the importance of protecting the privacy of children online and do not knowingly contact or collect personal information from children under 13.  Our site is not intended to solicit information of any kind from children under 13.

D. Cookies

"Cookies" are small bits of text that are either used for the duration of a session ("session cookies"), or saved on a user's hard drive in order to identify that user, or information about that user, the next time the user logs on to a Web site ("persistent cookies").  The Drug Enforcement Administration's Website and its component sites do not use persistent cookies.  The Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies defines conditions under which Federal agencies may use session and persistent cookies, and categorizes them in “tiers” to identify their characteristics.

Certain pages on DEA’s Website and its component sites may use these “Tier 1” session cookies to provide streamlined navigation and statistical analysis. No personally identifying information is gathered.  We also use session cookies as part of a voluntary web customer satisfaction survey that will appear to a small percentage of our Website visitors as they leave DEA’s site. Session cookies are deleted from DEA’s servers soon after your session ends and are not collected or saved. You may control permissions for cookies on this or any other website by adjusting your individual browser settings for customized privacy protection – see https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0042-online-tracking for helpful guidance.  You can still use our Web site if you do not accept the cookies, but you may be unable to use certain cookie-dependent features.

E. Email Subscriptions and Updates

DEA maintains several lists of subscribers who have asked to receive periodic email updates.  Any recipient of a DEA email may unsubscribe from future messages via a link at the bottom of each email message.  We do not sell, rent, exchange, or otherwise disclose our list subscribers to persons or organizations outside the Department of Justice.

Our email analytics provider, GovDelivery, also offers the capability to view some data, such as whether a mass email was opened, at an individual level for 30 days after an email was sent; as a matter of policy and practice this data is only viewed on an aggregate basis.

F. Links To External Sites

This website may contain links to websites created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations.  We provide these links as a service to visitors to our site.  When you follow a link to an external site, you are subject to the privacy and security policies of the external site.