SoCal Man’s Overdose Death Caused by Drug 100 Times Stronger Than Fentanyl

The man, who died in March, is the first Riverside County resident to die from carfentanil. It took months to confirm the cause.

A sample of carfentanil is analyzed at the DEA's Special Testing and Research Laboratory in Sterling, Va., on Oct. 21, 2016. Russell Baer/Drug Enforcement Administration via AP

A man in his 40s overdosed on the synthetic opioid carfentanil, a drug 100 times stronger than fentanyl, Riverside County, California, health officials confirmed on July 17.

He was the first Riverside County resident confirmed to die from carfentanil.