Matthew Perry was administered 27 quantities of morphine in the three weeks leading up to his death, according to a fresh video, Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Drama, released on Peacock.
The Friends artist, who passed away at the age of 54 in October 2023, died from “acute consequences of valium” in what was ruled an accidental sinking, as per his examination report. Before stepping down in January, US Attorney Martin Estrada, who oversaw the circumstance, claimed Perry had been given the ketamine infusions from “people who should have known many better”
Officials have charged five people in connection with Perry’s death, including two doctors, his live-in personal assistant, and an alleged drug seller known as the” Ketamine Queen”. According to an indictment unsealed next August, reported by The Independent, Perry’s associate, Kenneth Iwamasa, along with Erik Fleming, worked with physicians Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez to get significant quantities of morphine for the artist. Also, Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the” Ketamine Queen”, is accused of supplying the fatal dose.
Iwamasa gave Perry his second morphine shot at around 8:30 am the morning of his passing. A next injection came just 40 minutes later, as per a plea deal Iwamasa entered. Before receiving his last prescription, Perry officially told Iwamasa,” Take me up with a large one”, before instructing him to make the hot tub, New York Post reported.
Following the final shot, Iwamasa left to run duties, leaving Perry only. Eventually, the actor was discovered unresponsive in his warm tank.
Estrada praised the role of health professionals in the case, saying that” Dr Plasencia was very evident in his text emails that he saw this as an opportunity to make a lot of money in a short amount of time, and he reportedly did that.”
While some of the accused are also awaiting trial, Perry’s former aide, Iwamasa, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute morphine causing death ( New York Post ). In March 2025, Plasencia and Sangha will go on test together.
Estrada emphasized the shift in perspective regarding overdose cases and said,” In the past, we used to call these things overdose deaths and do more blaming of the sufferer. We don’t do that again. We blame the drug dealers, the medicine sellers, for taking advantage of those dependency issues to cause death or serious injuries, and that’s why we bring these circumstances”.
