It’s been almost one year since Friends star Matthew Perry was found unconscious in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home. His assistant quickly called 9-1-1 and reported that the actor had suffered a “cardiac event.” Emergency services quickly responded, but there was nothing they could do, and Perry was pronounced dead.
Two months after his death, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that Mr. Perry had died from the “acute effects” of ketamine, a powerful anesthetic drug with hallucinogenic properties. There were also several factors that contributed to his death, including coronary artery disease, drowning, and the use of Buprenorphine, a drug used to help treat narcotics addiction.
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Perry had been undergoing ketamine therapy, but the amount that was in his system indicated that he was obtaining ketamine illegally and taking it without a doctor’s permission.
Then, nearly seven months after his death, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration announced a joint investigation into Perry’s death. They wanted to find out how Perry got his hands on the ketamine and who was selling it to him.
Just three months after launching the investigation, five people were arrested in connection with Mr. Perry’s death — two doctors, middleman Erik Fleming, the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, California, and the very assistant who found Perry in his hot tub.
Every day, it seems that more information is being revealed about Perry’s last days and his addiction to ketamine. Mr. Perry was very open about his years-long struggle with addiction to alcohol and pain medications.
Sadly, instead of helping him with his relapse, doctors took advantage of him. Two of the men charged in his death — Erik Fleming and Dr. Salvador Plasencia — even sent text messages to each other calling Perry a “moron” and wondering how much money they could get out of him.
We are now learning that Perry was much deeper into his ketamine addiction than anyone thought. In fact, he was so obsessed with the powerful drug that he actually wanted to sell it. Selling ketamine is highly illegal, and only those with a medical license can legally get their hands on it.
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According to a report from Page Six, Perry planned to set up a company in Hollywood that would help those who were interested in trying ketamine therapy. While the therapy is relatively new, it has shown to really have a positive impact on those who are dealing with severe trauma.
“He was telling me this (ketamine) is fantastic, he wanted to go into business with this one guy in Glendale, or somewhere in the Valley,” said a close friend who had worked with Perry.
“Obviously this guy was giving him as much as he wanted, and with an addict, you can’t do that, it was terrible.”
“I think Matthew was even able to get ketamine without seeing a doctor,” the pal added.
Mr. Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez have both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Mr. Fleming also pled guilty to one count of distribution of ketamine, resulting in death. Mr. Fleming admitted to purchasing a large amount of ketamine from the “Ketamine Queen”, AKA Jasveen Sangha.
He then gave 50 vials of the ketamine to Mr. Perry’s assistant, half of it going to him just days before Perry’s sudden and tragic death.
Dr. Chavez admitted to investigators that he sold the ketamine to Dr. Plasencia, who has not pled to any of the charges against him. Ms. Sangha has also not pleaded to anything. She faces up to life in prison if found guilty of the charges against her.
Mr. Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, also pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, resulting in death. Iwamasa lived with Mr. Perry and was his assistant for years. After he was arrested, he admitted to being the person who injected Perry with the ketamine. He said that he would frequently inject the actor multiple times per day.
For years, Mr. Perry spoke about how much ketamine had helped him. He said that he used the drug frequently and felt that it helped him release a lot of his inner demons. Sadly, it became something he could not live without, and the people around him, instead of helping him, used his addiction to take advantage.
Do you think it is safe for doctors to use ketamine as a way to treat patients? Is it too addictive to be safe? Let us know in the comments.