Last fall, the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry was met with a collective howl of grief . Now, with the arrest of five people charged with involvement in the ketamine overdose that killed him, that howl should turn to one of anger. According to U.
S. Attorney Martin Estrada, two doctors, Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, allegedly worked with Jasveen Sangha, a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen,” to supply Perry with the drug, which Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, injected into the actor several times on the day of his death. Ketamine, once known as the party drug Special K, is a sedative that many doctors now use to alleviate depression and treat substance abuse.
Law enforcement officials said Perry, who began supervised ketamine treatments for depression and anxiety at a local clinic and became addicted to the drug, subsequently sought outside sources for it; the amount of the drug found in his system at the time of his death was far greater than prescribed amounts, so high that it acted as general anesthesia would. The defendants, Estrada said during a news conference Thursday, systematically provided Perry with dangerous amounts of the drug: They “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction to enrich themselves” and were “more interested in profiting off Mr.
Perry than caring about his well being.” At 54, Perry was a beloved figure. Long known for his ability to land a one-liner with a style that was both comedically ruthless and deeply hum.