Beloved “Friends” star Matthew Perry experienced a troubling situation in which he appeared to “freeze up” after being injected with a “large dose” of ketamine by a doctor who was later charged in connection to his death. The doctor, Salvador Plascencia, along with others, including Perry’s assistant and an alleged street dealer, were accused of bilking thousands of dollars from the actor for vials of ketamine. Plascencia took advantage of Perry’s drug abuse by charging exorbitant prices for the ketamine and even made derogatory remarks about the actor while doing so.
Leading up to Perry’s death, he had been undergoing ketamine therapy for depression and was receiving injections from his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who had been living with him since 1994. Iwamasa administered multiple shots of ketamine to Perry in the days before his death, with some of those shots allegedly resulting in serious bodily injury and ultimately leading to his death. Despite the clinic’s refusal to increase his dosage, Perry sought additional ketamine from Plascencia, who then enlisted the help of another doctor, Mark Chavez, to provide the drugs for Perry in exchange for a significant amount of money.
Plascencia and Chavez supplied Perry with approximately 20 vials of ketamine in just over a month, charging him thousands of dollars for a drug that cost as little as $12 per vial. Plascencia reportedly saw an opportunity to become Perry’s main supplier of drugs and continued to provide him with ketamine, despite knowing the dangers of his addiction. The final, fatal dose of ketamine that Perry received was believed to have come from Jasveen Sangha, who has also been charged in connection to the distribution of the drug.
Plascencia and Sangha are facing charges related to the distribution of ketamine, with Plascencia also being charged with falsifying documents related to a federal investigation. Sangha, who allegedly ran a stash house, is also facing additional charges related to the possession and distribution of other drugs. In exchange for their involvement in the conspiracy to distribute ketamine and the resulting death of Perry, Fleming, Iwamasa, and Chavez all accepted plea deals that included confessing to their roles in the distribution of the drug.
The tragic death of Matthew Perry shed light on the dark underworld of drug distribution and addiction that he had been struggling with. The involvement of doctors, an assistant, and a street dealer in exploiting his addiction for financial gain highlights the devastating consequences of the opioid crisis and the lengths to which some will go to profit from the suffering of others. Perry’s death serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of addiction and the need for stricter regulations and oversight in the medical industry to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
