Last year, Friends actor Matthew Perry was found dead at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 54. Perry had struggled with addiction for years and had publicly admitted to long-term abuse of drugs and alcohol. According to his autopsy report, the acute effects of ketamine were the cause of his death. The toxicology report revealed high levels of ketamine in his system, with the primary cause of death attributed to cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression. This overdose directly indicated that Perry's death was due to excessive use of ketamine, leading authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding his passing.

As of today, five people have been arrested in connection with Perry's death, uncovering a large underground network involved in the illegal trafficking of ketamine. This criminal ring included Perry’s personal assistant, various intermediaries, two doctors, and a notorious ketamine dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen."

Shockingly, Perry’s assistant, who was the first to discover his body, was also the person who had been purchasing and administering ketamine to him. Prosecutors revealed that in the four days leading up to Perry’s death, his assistant had given him more than 20 doses of ketamine, with three of those injections administered on the day he died. These high doses were given without any professional oversight. According to investigators, one of the arrested doctors, Salvador Plasencia, had even confided in other patients the same month that Perry's addiction was spiraling out of control, yet he continued to supply him with ketamine.

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So, what exactly is ketamine, and how could it lead to the tragic downfall of such a well-known figure?

Ketamine was developed in the 1960s as an anesthetic and painkiller, known for its sedative, analgesic, and dissociative anesthetic properties. In recent years, low doses of ketamine have been found to provide rapid relief from depressive symptoms, leading to its use as a treatment for treatment-resistant depression. Before his death, Perry had been diagnosed with depression, and ketamine became his method of managing the symptoms. However, he overlooked the addictive nature of the drug. When misused, ketamine can cause severe mental and physical side effects, including hallucinations, confusion, and bladder damage.

Perry's assistant and his doctor exploited his addiction, profiting from him by continuously supplying large amounts of ketamine. While it remains unclear whether Perry’s long-standing substance abuse problem was solely caused by the actions of his assistant and doctor, the case highlights the urgent need for greater attention to the issue of drug abuse in the United States.

Reference:

https://bbc.com/news/articles/c89wgv98925o