A 33-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter after a Sherwood Park man died of a fentanyl overdose earlier this year.
On Feb. 28, a 39-year-old man was found dead, slumped over inside a vehicle in the area of Gateway Boulevard and 43 Avenue in Edmonton.
An autopsy has since confirmed the man, whose name was not released by police, died of a fentanyl overdose.
Jamie Michael Dixon, of Edmonton, was arrested on Monday and was charged with manslaughter and three counts of trafficking.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate narcotic, primarily used for pain management. It is anywhere from 50 to 100 times stronger than other opioids like morphine, heroin or oxycodone.
In the first half of 2017, there were 241 fentanyl-related deaths in Alberta.
READ MORE: 241 fentanyl-related deaths in Alberta in first half of 2017
In October 2016, the Edmonton Police Service laid its first manslaughter charge in relation to a man’s death caused by a fentanyl overdose.