Owen Sound police say fentanyl, not heroin as previously suspected, has been tied to three overdoses in the region.
In a statement, Insp. Stephen MacKinnon said, “We have received the results on the analysis of two samples of substances we sent to Health Canada and they came back as being the same drug - Fentanyl.”
The substances tested came from two locations where paramedics had responded to suspected overdoses early Monday.
A 29-year-old Meaford was pronounced dead in hospital, while a man and woman in their 20s at a separate location, both from Owen Sound, survived after being rushed to hospital.
MacKinnon added, "Fentanyl is a powerful opiate that when not taken as prescribed can potentially be lethal, but please let me be clear, we are not saying this is what caused the death of the young man. We must wait for the toxicology results to be returned."
An investigation into the incidents continued, but police say in at least one case the person believed they were ingesting heroin - not fentanyl.
The cluster of overdoses also prompted the Grey Bruce Health Unit to issue a warning about the potentially fatal consequences of the drug reportedly being passed off as heroin.
