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OAN Staff Abril Elfi
3:53 PM – Wednesday, July 23, 2025
One of the doctors that was previously accused of illicitly providing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry, who died in October 2023, has pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California said in a press statement on Wednesday that Dr. Salvador Plasencia will face a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison for each count at his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for December 3rd.
Plasencia is currently free on bond, and he has stated via his counsel that he plans to surrender his medical license within the next six weeks.
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Plasencia is just one of five people who were charged in relation to Perry’s death.
In October 2024, Dr. Mark Chavez also pleaded guilty to illegally providing the “Friends” actor with ketamine in exchange for cash payments.
Perry was found unconscious in his Los Angeles home’s jacuzzi on October 28, 2023. According to the postmortem report, Perry died from acute effects of ketamine.
“Though deaths from ketamine overdose are relatively rare when the drug is used on its own, the risks become greater when ketamine is used with other drugs that also impact breathing, such as alcohol or other sedatives,” according to the Oxford Treatment Center. “Whenever substances are taken together, the effects and risks of each substance may be amplified, leading to more severe health effects.”
The Department of Justice also believes Chavez was part of an underground criminal network that utilized Perry as a personal piggy bank by unlawfully selling him ketamine.
According to prosecutors, Chavez, 54, acknowledged providing ketamine to Plasencia with the knowledge that Perry, who was battling a ketamine addiction, would purchase it.
Plasencia faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $2 million or twice the gross gain or loss from the offenses, whichever is greater, and a mandatory $400 special assessment.
People take ketamine, a “cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties,” for a variety of reasons. It’s particularly effective for those who haven’t responded to traditional antidepressants, and it can also reduce suicidal thoughts in some patients. However, it can cause fear, paranoia, or disorientation, and bladder damage (ketamine-induced cystitis) as well.
Being caught with ketamine without medical justification can lead to:
- Fines
- Criminal charges
- Jail time
- Loss of driving license or employment opportunities
Some clinics offer ketamine therapy for mental health, but this must be carefully regulated and supervised by licensed professionals. Buying it online, on the street, or using it outside a clinical setting is illegal.
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