LAPD launches drug probe into 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' star Matthew Perry's death
What's the story
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) launched a joint criminal investigation into the death of actor Matthew Perry on Tuesday (local time).
Best known for his role as Chandler Bing on F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Perry was found unresponsive in his Pacific Palisades home on October 28, 2023. He was 54.
The LA County Medical Examiner's Office attributed his death to "the acute effects of ketamine."
Autopsy findings
Perry's death was linked to 'high levels of ketamine'
An autopsy revealed that Perry had ketamine levels in his blood akin to those used during anesthesia.
The report stated, "At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression."
Further, it revealed that drowning and buprenorphine—a drug for opioid addiction that Perry had openly discussed in interviews—were contributing factors.
Despite these findings, Perry's death was ruled an accident with no evidence of foul play.
Therapy investigation
Perry's ketamine infusion therapy under scrutiny
Authorities are now investigating how Perry came to possess such high levels of ketamine.
The actor had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression in the days leading up to his death.
However, the medical examiner clarified that the ketamine present in Perry's body at the time of his death could not have been from this therapy due to its half-life of just three to four hours.
About ketamin
Understanding what ketamine exactly is
Ketamine is utilized both as a treatment for depression and as a recreational drug.
In 2006, researchers at the National Institutes of Health discovered that an intravenous dose of ketamine can alleviate severe depression within hours, in contrast to the weeks-long onset of traditional antidepressants.
In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a ketamine nasal spray as an adjunct treatment for major depressive disorder.
Notably, the circumstances of Perry's additional ketamine use before his death are still unclear.
Personal battles
Perry's struggles with substance abuse revealed
In his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry openly discussed his struggles with substance abuse which began at age 14 and intensified during his time on the 1994 sitcom.
He admitted to consuming up to five dozen pills a day at one point.
Despite these struggles, he was reportedly 19 months sober at the time of his death.
Perry also suffered from diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), reportedly.