It’s been almost a year since the world lost the brilliant man who brought up Miss Chanandelor Bong; Matthew Perry. The beloved Friends actor passed away on October 28th, 2023 due to an overdose of ketamine, a drug that is frequently used in anesthesia. When he was alive, Perry was very open about his struggle with addiction, and worked to help others find a way out of the nightmare in which he lived.
Unless you lived under a rock, lines that he debuted on Friends were a part of your everyday vernacular, even if you weren’t aware that you were quoting his work. Perry’s untimely passing shocked the entire world; it also shone a light on the dangers of using drugs outside of their medically intended purpose. As a result of these drugs being only available with a prescription, investigators were able to track down who was responsible for selling the ketamine that ultimately took Perry’s life.
Dr. Mark Chavez is a Los Angeles physician who operated a ketamine clinic, where he would utilize ketamine for legitimate medical purposes (anesthesia, pain management, and treatment of depression). His proximity to access to the drug is what allowed him to sell ketamine illegally to other physicians. Dr. Chavez sold ketamine illegally to Dr. Salvador Plasencia. Dr. Plasencia then in turn sold the drug to a man who turned out to be Matthew Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. That assistant— who has no formal medical training— administered the drug to Perry, who then died when too much entered his system. All three of those men have been indicted in the Perry case, and charged with intent to distribute. Chavez is one of three who have chosen to plead guilty.
As is the case with so many drugs that have practical medical purposes; using ketamine without a prescription, and without licensed medical supervision is a high-risk behavior, and— as is evidenced by Matthew Perry’s death— frequently results with death being the lasting consequence. Perry did have pre-existing conditions that led to the drug being an even higher risk for him, not the least of which was a known struggle with addiction. With him being so open publicly about his battle to stay clean, one would think that a doctor would think twice before selling ketamine to his personal assistant.
But alas; money tends to cloud the judgment of even the best of humans.
It’s unfair for medical professionals who do adhere to the legal restrictions around distributing drugs to be lumped in with doctors whose acts outside the rule of law result in death and devastation, but that is another unfortunate side effect whenever something like this happens. It doesn’t just affect other practitioners of medicine, it affects their patients too. When the mortality rate rises in correlation with a certain medication— even if the cause was misuse of said medication— everyone who uses or prescribes that medication is held under a microscope.
Countless lives have been lost to misuse of medication. If you need further proof, do yourself a wee google on the opioid epidemic. Perry’s is just one life amidst a sea of untimely deaths due to misuse of drugs, but with him being in the limelight, maybe his tragic passing will do more towards stemming the tide of death in the wake of misuse of prescription drugs.
If reading this has you in your feels, that’s ok. You should be. It’s a sad thing that was completely avoidable. For us? We’ll be remembering Perry’s contributions to pop culture, and the way he used his character Chandler Bing to teach us all that sometimes humor is a load-bearing wall when it comes to the structure of our mental health. We also plan to remember that Perry hoped that his legacy would be his commitment to supporting others in their commitment to addiction recovery. Imagine what the world could be if that dream of his carried on in his honor.
The best way to prevent similar tragedies? Stay informed. Stay open minded. Stay aware of what doctors are saying, and what risks come with the medications they’re prescribing yourself and your loved ones. Stay committed to building societal supports for those struggling with addiction so that maybe, just maybe, we can have a world where fewer people die while trying to escape reality for an hour or two.
