Matthew Perry’s tragic death was met with profound sadness within Hollywood and amongst fans for whom he played such an integral part in their lives during his 20 years as Chandler Bing. Perry’s noted drug dependence was at the heart of his cause of death, but his doctor has since taken a plea deal accepting culpability — giving people insight into the previously shadowy specifics of how erroneously doctors give out ketamine prescriptions.
ABC reports that Dr. Salvador Plasencia operated an urgent care facility in Malibu, and the DOJ announced that he is expected to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine that was directly involved in Perry’s death. The Friends star was found in his jacuzzi in late 2023, unresponsive, and his autopsy revealed that his cause of death was the acute effects of ketamine.
The charge Dr. Plasencia was reportedly facing carried a statutory maximum of 40 years behind bars. That’s not necessarily what he will serve now, but it just goes to show the amount of leverage prosecutors had in this particular case. In his plea agreement, the doctor admitted that he distributed 20 vials of ketamine to Matthew Perry and his live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, in a little over a month.
A crucial part of the admission was that Dr. Plasencia admitted “his conduct fell below the proper standard of medical care,” and he also admitted that Matthew Perry did not have a legitimate medical reason for the prescription. The ethical oversight has lately been wanting, with even figures like Elon Musk reportedly being pointed out as heavy users of this clearly dangerous drug.
The plea agreement also offers insight into how Dr. Plasencia got involved with Perry’s drug use. Apparently, Perry was first getting the ketamine through his assistant. Later on, though, Perry was directly introduced to Dr. Plasencia through an identified patient — who apparently is also a high-profile individual.
Dr. Plasencia then contacted another doctor, Dr. Chavez, because his new “clients” were reportedly willing to pay “lots of thousands” for ketamine treatment. Plasencia was able to get liquid ketamine vials and ketamine lozenges from Chavez and immediately started administering them to Perry at his house. He also left some vials in the possession of Perry’s assistant.
Dr. Plasencia was being paid as high as $12,000 per visit. The plea agreement also reveals a very shocking instance where he administered the drug in a parking lot in Long Beach. That action was apparently even a step too far for Chavez — who reportedly reprimanded Plasencia for administering the drug to patients in public and in the presence of children.
Apparently, Plasencia also once administered ketamine on Perry and he had a severe blood pressure spike — yet he still chillingly left more vials in the possession of his assistant despite the potential adverse effects. Just a day before Perry’s death, Plasencia had apparently stocked 10 more vials and texted the assistant that, even though they had told him they were taking a break, he had been stocking up in the meantime.
The ketamine that eventually led to Perry’s death, however, was not specifically from him. This will presumably help him during sentencing, alongside his exposing of the ketamine distribution ecosystem.
