Zürcher Nachrichten - Doctor jailed for supplying ketamine to 'Friends' star Matthew Perry

Salvador Plasencia, 44, is the first of five people to face justice over Perry's 2023 death in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home.

Plasencia was ordered to serve 30 months in prison for supplying the drug to the actor -- who had well documented struggles with addiction -- at grossly inflated prices.

In a victim impact statement filed with the court, Perry's mother Suzanne Perry and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, said Plasencia -- who did not supply the fatal dose of the drug -- had neglected his duty as a doctor.

"Matthew's recovery counted on you saying NO," they wrote.

"Your motives? I can't imagine. A doctor whose life is devoted to helping people?"

Plasencia's attorneys, Karen Goldstein and Debra White, who had argued for a probationary sentence, said their client, who has surrendered his medical license, was filled with regret.

"He is not a villain. He is someone who made serious mistakes in his treatment decisions involving the off-label use of ketamine -- a drug commonly used for depression that does not have uniform standards," they said after the sentencing.

"The mistakes he made over the 13 days during which he treated Mr. Perry will stay with him forever."

Another doctor, Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.

Plasencia allegedly bought ketamine off Chavez and sold it to the American-Canadian actor at hugely inflated prices.

"I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia wrote in one text message presented by prosecutors.

The four other people who have also admitted their part in supplying drugs to the actor will be sentenced over the coming months.

They include Jasveen Sangha, the alleged "Ketamine Queen" who supplied drugs to high-end clients and celebrities, who could be jailed for up to 65 years.

Perry's live-in personal assistant and another man pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

- Addiction struggles -

The actor's lengthy struggles with substance addiction were well-documented, but his death at age 54 sent shockwaves through the global legions of "Friends" fans.

A criminal investigation was launched soon after an autopsy discovered he had high levels of ketamine -- an anesthetic -- in his system.

In a plea deal with prosecutors, Plasencia said he went to Perry's home to administer ketamine by injection and distributed 20 vials of the drug over a roughly two-week period in autumn 2023.

Perry had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.

But prosecutors say that before his death he became addicted to the substance, which also has psychedelic properties and is a popular party drug.

First airing between 1994 and 2004, the televised comedy "Friends" followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, drew a massive following and made megastars of previously unknown actors.

Perry's role as the sarcastic man-child Chandler brought him fabulous wealth, but hid a dark struggle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.

In 2018, he suffered a drug-related burst colon and underwent multiple surgeries.

In his 2022 memoir "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," Perry described going through detox dozens of times.

"I have mostly been sober since 2001," he wrote, "save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps."

R.Bernasconi--NZN