Doctor pleads guilty to distributing ketamine to Matthew Perry and could be jailed for 40 years
Dr Salvador Plascenia, a doctor charged with supplying Matthew Perry with ketamine, has pleaded guilty to drug distribution.
Perry, best known for his role on Friends, passed away due to an overdose in 2023 at his home in Los Angeles. The physician could spend up to four decades in jail for his actions, and could also potentially be fined $1 million.
In a statement released following his plea, Ciaran McEvoy of the US Attorney’s Office discussed the severity of the sentence, saying, “He will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count at his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for December 3. He remains free on bond and has indicated through his lawyers that he intends to surrender his medical license within the next 30-45 days.”
Plascenia’s lawyer says that her defendant is showing accountability for his wrongdoings, saying that the doctor is “acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction.” The statement also says that he is “profoundly remorseful” for his treatment of the actor and his decisions regarding his health.
This comes after one of Perry’s other doctors, Mark Chavez, also pleaded guilty to supplying the actor with ketamine. Alongside the various exchanges Chavez had with Perry, his case also featured texts shared between him and Plascenia discussing Perry’s supply, with Plascenia stating, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Despite not being in contact with Perry until a month before his passing, Plascenia had collaborated with Chavez to become the actor’s “go-to” source for the substance. The prosecutors had claimed that the doctor had supplied ketamine to Perry for $4,500.
Thus far, five people have been brought up on charges related to Perry’s death. The only person not to plead guilty in the case has been Jasmine Sangha, who is being charged with supplying Perry with the ketamine dose that he took at the time of his death. Sangha’s trial is set to begin in August 2025.
Though Perry had been using ketamine infusion therapy in the months before his death as a way to treat his depression, the case was later opened up into his passing after his autopsy, given the level of the substance in his system. Additionally, outside of ketamine, Perry was said to have buprenorphine in his system, a drug commonly used to treat opioid use.
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