Matthew Perry is an actor known worldwide thanks to the role of Chandler Bing in the series Friends. For most of his life, he struggled with addiction, and his problems began even before the success of the show.
Perry had his first experience of alcohol as a teenager, and his addiction increased during his career in Hollywood. The turning point was an accident on a water scooter in 1997, after which Perry became addicted to painkillers, especially Vicodin. He quickly fell into an advanced form of addiction to alcohol and opioids, as he openly wrote in his autobiography.
Despite numerous treatment attempts, including 15 rehab stays and participation in thousands of meetings of support groups, Perry returned regularly to addiction. In 2023 he became addicted again, this time on ketamineinitially used as a treatment for depression and anxiety. Soon, however, doses became dangerously high, and Perry began looking for new sources of this medicine when doctors refused to increase his dose.
Who is responsible for Perry’s death?
Matthew Perry died of acute ketamine action, in combination with drowning and coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction. Death was considered an accident and ketamine Perry received illegally, which became the subject of a widely commented investigation and trial. The tragedy took on a new dimension in early July 2025 when a federal investigation led to the prosecution and trial of several people, including two doctors and Perry's assistant, who were to contribute to his death through illegal delivery of ketamine.
Dr Salvador Plasencia is a doctor who admitted guilt about the illegal distribution of ketamine to Matthew Perry in the months before his death. The Los Angeles federal court accepted his confession to four crimes related to the distribution of this substance. Plasencia also admitted that he was aware of Perry’s susceptibility to addiction, but nevertheless continued to give him prescription medication and an assistant actor. In exchange for pleading guilty, the punishment may have been alleviated but threatens even 40 years in prison, although the sentence is likely to be much milder, especially since he did not sell Perry the lethal dose. The doctor himself declared waiver of the right to practice.
