LA doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine sentenced to prison

Dr Salvador Plasencia, 44, had pleaded guilty on Wednesday to giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the Friends star’s overdose death in 2023. Perry died at age 54 after struggling with addiction for years, dating back to his time as one of the biggest stars of his generation for his role as Chandler Bing.

The actor had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn’t provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling to Perry and knowing he was a struggling addict. He texted another doctor that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.

The judge emphasized that Plasencia didn’t provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him: “You and others helped Mr. Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.”

“You exploited Mr Perry’s addiction for your own profit,” she said.

Plasencia was led from the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother cried loudly in the audience.

Plasencia’s lawyers had tried to give a sympathetic portrait of him as a man who rose out of poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients, some of whom provided testimonials about him for the court. The attorneys called his selling to Perry “reckless” and “the biggest mistake of his life”.

Perry’s mother and two half sisters were in attendance at the hearing and gave tearful victim impact statements before the sentencing.

“The world mourns my brother,” Madeleine Morrison said. “He was everyone’s favorite friend.”