WASHINGTON — Five people were charged on Thursday in connection with Matthew Perry's death last year, including the actor's assistant and two doctors.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges, saying the doctors supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine and even wondered in a text message how much the former “Friends” star would be willing to pay.
Perry died in October due to a ketamine overdose and received several injections of the drug on the day he died from his live-in personal assistant, who found Perry dead later that day.
Ketamine was listed as the primary cause of death, which was ruled an accident with no foul play suspected, the actor's autopsy report revealed. Drowning and other medical issues were also listed as contributing factors.
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is labeled as a "dissociative anesthetic" that can have hallucinogenic effects, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The powerful anesthetic is approved by U.S. health regulators for use during surgery, but in the past decade it has emerged as an experimental treatment for a range of psychiatric and hard-to-treat conditions, including depression, anxiety and chronic pain.
While not approved by regulators as a depression treatment, doctors are free to prescribe drugs these alternate uses if they think their patients could benefit, and hundreds of clinics across the U.S. offer ketamine infusions and other formulations for various health conditions.
When delivered through an IV, ketamine can cause a rapid increase in heart rate and blood pressure that could be dangerous for some patients.
People close to Perry told investigators that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy before his death. His autopsy, released in December, found that the amount of ketamine in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.
Is ketamine legal?
Ketamine has been approved by the FDA as an anesthetic for people and animals since 1970.
It is commercially produced in the U.S. and a number of other countries, but most of the ketamine illegally distributed in the U.S. is stolen from veterinary clinics or smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.
Among those arrested Thursday is Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors described as a drug dealer known as the “ketamine queen.” Ketamine supplied by Sangha caused Perry's death, authorities said.
Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa received the ketamine from Erik Fleming, who has pleaded guilty to obtaining the drug from Sangha and delivering them to Iwamasa. In all, he delivered 50 vials of ketamine for Perry's use, including 25 handed over four days before the actor's death.
The drug causes hallucinations and distorts perceptions of vision and sound. Due to these dissociative properties, ketamine has also become a "club drug" and has several street names such as "Special K" and "Vitamin K," according to the DEA.
Often times, ketamine comes in a liquid form or a white powder, the DEA says. Powdered ketamine is packaged in small glass vials, plastic bags or capsules. Liquid ketamine is injected or mixed into drinks.