Asheville police arrested a man with 0.85 grams of fentanyl — enough to kill 425 adults, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

Adam Kirk Dillingham, 37, of Weaverville has been charged with three felonies related to dealing fentanyl, a synthetic opiate the DEA describes as 80-100 times more potent than morphine.

Fentanyl is considered one of the highest-risk opiates and has been linked to thousands of overdoses in North Carolina. According to the DEA, 0.02 milligrams of fentanyl — the equivalent of two grains of sand — is enough to kill most adults.

Fentanyl is typically used to relieve extreme pain in end-of-life situations where the patient is rapidly deteriorating. Street dealers generally lack the laboratory-grade experience or instruments required to measure a non-lethal dose reliably.

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Criminal History

Adam Kirk Dillingham made Knoxville headlines in 2011 when he called in a bomb threat to a Buffalo Wild Wings in an effort to get his girlfriend out of a bartending shift. Dillingham reported himself to the police two hours after the initial threat when he realized the situation had spiraled out of control, reported the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Dillingham was arrested in the early morning hours of April 3 and is scheduled to appear in court the same day, facing three felony charges — possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, and maintaining a vehicle for keeping and selling a controlled substance. His secured bond is set at $5,000.