Dr. Salvador Plascencia, who was convicted in the case surrounding Matthew Perry’s death, was sentenced Wednesday to two and a half years in prison for illegally supplying the actor with ketamine. The anesthetic caused Perry’s fatal overdose in 2023.
In July, Plascencia, who ran an urgent-care clinic outside Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in federal court to four felony counts of unlawful distribution of the anesthetic. Had he gone to trial and been convicted, he faced up to 40 years in prison.
Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom Friends, was found dead in October 2023 in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home after years of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
An FBI and DEA investigation following his death uncovered a broad network of people who illegally supplied him with drugs, including Plascencia’s associate, Dr. Mark Chavez, who admitted in a plea deal that he provided the ketamine dose that caused Perry’s overdose.
According to charging documents, the two doctors supplied Perry with large quantities of ketamine, a powerful anesthetic considered dangerous when used without proper medical supervision. While ketamine is approved for anesthesia and certain pain treatments, it has also gained popularity on the illicit market in recent years as a party drug or for rapid relief of depression and psychological distress.
Investigators also uncovered disturbing text messages between Chavez and Plascencia, in which they appeared to joke about Perry’s addiction and the profits they stood to make. In one exchange, Plascencia wrote: “How much do you think this idiot is willing to pay for it?” Chavez replied: “Whatever we ask. He’s too high to notice.” Prosecutors say Perry paid around $4,500 per dose, encouraging the doctors to continue supplying him for significant profit.
Also charged in the case was drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen,” who pleaded guilty to supplying Perry with the lethal dose. Prosecutors said Sangha worked with Plascencia to sell Perry unusually high quantities of ketamine while disregarding the potential health consequences.
Perry’s death has renewed scrutiny over the growing use of ketamine in the entertainment industry, where the drug has become increasingly accessible to celebrities coping with stress and mental health challenges. A New York Times investigation published shortly after his death found that dozens of well-known actors and musicians had used ketamine in recent years, sometimes independently and sometimes through improper prescriptions from physicians. The surge in use raises serious questions about doctors’ responsibility and the lack of adequate oversight by U.S. health authorities.
First published: 03:57, 12.04.25