Matthew Perry’s Physician Pleads Responsible To Distribution Expenses With Up To 40-Yr Sentence

The passing of Matthew Perry shook the world when he was discovered useless in his L.A. residence in October 2023, and now a physician concerned within the lead-up to the actor’s passing has pleaded responsible to distribution of a managed substance. Most identified for enjoying Chandler Bing in each season of Pals, Perry’s loss of life has been confirmed to be ketamine-related.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia is the medical skilled who grew to become one of many people chargeable for supplying Perry with ketamine, as per Selection. He did so “with no official goal.” Plasencia, 43, was conscious of the previous Pals forged member and his star standing on the time. On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, Plasencia entered a responsible plea on 4 counts of ketamine distribution.

Whereas starring in what is among the best sitcoms in TV historical past, Perry shortly rose to fame within the mid-Nineteen Nineties. His platform resulted within the actor’s battle with dependancy being comparatively well-documented, and Perry himself typically spoke brazenly about it. PBS reviews that Plasencia’s lawyer, Debra White, has issued a press release concerning her consumer, which might be learn under.

“Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the remedy selections he made whereas offering ketamine to Matthew Perry. He’s absolutely accepting accountability by pleading responsible to drug distribution. Dr. Plasencia intends to voluntarily give up his medical license, acknowledging his failure to guard Mr. Perry, a affected person who was particularly weak because of dependancy.”

What Salvador Plasencia’s Responsible Plea Means For The Matthew Perry Case

One Defendant Is But To Face Trial

The reason for Matthew Perry’s loss of life was confirmed shortly after his passing. He did not stay an excessive amount of within the public mild within the years earlier than he died, so it was unclear how he was doing in his battle towards drug dependancy.

Dr. Plasencia had been prescribing the actor the drug underneath the guise of it being an off-label remedy for despair. Ketamine is usually prescribed for sure circumstances, so Perry was not the primary particular person to obtain the drug on this context.

A message was introduced as proof in the course of the trial that exposed Plasencia mentioned to a fellow physician, additionally a defendant within the case: “I’m wondering how a lot this moron can pay [for ketamine]… Let’s discover out.” He additionally administered a dose to Perry that introduced on worrying unwanted side effects, however left one other dose for the actor’s assistant to inject.

It must be made clear that Plasencia has been confirmed to not have provided Perry with the dose that killed him in 2023, however he did plead responsible to 4 counts of distribution that happened within the lead-up to the actor’s overdose. Different figures additionally provided Perry with Ketamine. Jasveen “The Ketamine Queen” Sangha stays the case’s lone defendant, and he or she has pleaded not responsible.

The physician took a plea deal in June 2025. It concerned him pleading responsible to 4 expenses of distribution related to Perry’s case. In return, extra expenses towards Plasencia have been dropped, which included extra counts of distribution and the falsification of medical data.

Plasencia had already been prevented from prescribing managed substances earlier than his trial because of the investigation into his involvement with Perry’s loss of life. Now, he’s surrendering his medical license. The utmost size of time he can spend in jail after supplying Matthew Perry with ketamine is 40 years, but it surely’s unlikely he’ll serve a sentence that lengthy.

Sources: Selection, PBS