Doctor Sentenced to 30 Months for Supplying Ketamine to Matthew Perry: "I Failed Myself"

Salvador Plasencia was among five people charged after Matthew Perry's death

The doctor who supplied ketamine to Friends star Matthew Perry has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. Salvador Plasencia, a 44-year-old California physician, was among five individuals charged following an extensive federal investigation into Perry's access to ketamine through an underground Hollywood network.

Plasencia, who entered a guilty plea in July to four counts of distributing ketamine, expressed remorse before his sentencing. "I want to raise him right," he said referring to his two-year-old son. "I also think about how to explain this to him."

Perry, who had openly discussed his battles with addiction and depression for years, was found deceased at his Los Angeles home in 2023 at age 54. US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett clarified that while Plasencia did not provide the fatal dose that killed Perry, his actions nevertheless contributed to the circumstances leading to the actor's overdose.

"You and others helped Mr Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction," the judge stated. "You exploited Mr Perry's addiction for your own profit." She added, "Mr Plasencia kept pushing it... he literally was offering to sell ketamine," according to the BBC.

Perry had been legally using ketamine as a depression treatment, but when his primary physician limited his supply, he turned to Plasencia, who admitted knowing Perry was addicted yet continued selling to him anyway. Court documents reveal Plasencia texted another doctor, referring to Perry as a "moron" he could profit from.

"There was nothing moronic about that man," Perry's mother, Suzanne Morrison, told the court, referencing those messages. "You called him a 'moron'...He was even a successful drug addict... this was a bad thing you did."

Perry's father, John, and stepmother, Debbie, wrote that the actor's "recovery counted on you saying NO," questioning how a physician "whose life is devoted to helping people" could participate in enabling his addiction.

His mother and stepfather described the doctor as a "jackal" who repeatedly violated his Hippocratic oath - a doctor's promise to protect patients and do no harm.

Perry's sister, Madeline Morrison, stated, "The world mourns my brother. He was everyone's favorite friend."

"Celebrities are not plastic dolls that you can take advantage of. They're people. They're human beings with families," she told him.

Addressing the family, Plasencia said, "I failed myself. There is no excuse. I can't undo what's been done. I know that. I should have protected him, as his mother said. I'm just so sorry." He became emotional again, adding, "I should have protected him."

The judge imposed a 30-month prison term along with a $5,600 fine. Plasencia was taken into custody immediately following the sentencing, as reported by the Associated Press.