Doctor who sold ketamine to ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry gets 30 months in prison

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Wednesday, December 3, during an emotional hearing over the Friends star’s overdose death.

Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for providing ketamine to Matthew Perry and his assistant. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a $5,600 fine and ordered that Plasencia be taken into federal custody immediately.

Perry’s family and half-sisters delivered tearful victim impact statements before sentencing. “My brother’s death turned my world upside down,” sister Madeline Morrison said through tears. “It punched a crater in my life. His absence is everywhere.”

Doctor sentenced after supplying ketamine to Matthew Perry

Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of illegally distributing ketamine to Matthew Perry. He also surrendered his California medical license in September 2025.

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett emphasized that Plasencia did not 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.” She added, “You exploited Mr Perry's addiction for your own profit.”

Plasencia is the first of five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s 2023 death at age 54 to be sentenced.

The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry despite knowing he was a struggling addict. According to court filings, Plasencia even texted another doctor that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money. 

Prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence, while the defense argued for a single day in custody followed by probation.

‘Ketamine Queen’ Jasveen Sangha faces sentencing in Matthew Perry overdose

Matthew Perry, who was 54 years old, was discovered unresponsive and floating face-down in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be the acute effects of ketamine, with contributing factors including drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.

Perry struggled with addiction for decades, dating back to his time on 'Friends,' when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit sitcom.

Jasveen Sangha, widely known as the “Ketamine Queen” and accused of providing the drugs that caused Perry’s death, is expected to be sentenced on December 10. Sangha pleaded guilty in August to three counts of distributing ketamine, one count of distribution resulting in death or serious bodily injury, and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, according to her earlier plea.