In May, we reported that an investigation was underway to determine how beloved actor Matthew Perry had acquired the ketamine that played a significant role in his tragic death last October.
We now have an update on this investigation.
According to TMZ, multiple arrests have been made in connection with Perry’s fatal overdose several months ago.
The aforementioned website states that at least one doctor and one drug dealer are now in custody.
The arrests were made after law enforcement officials in Los Angeles executed search warrants and seized computers, phones and other electronic equipment to determine who supplied Perry with the drug that caused him to lose consciousness in October and drown in his hot tub in his Pacific Palisades home.
There are reportedly texts messages between one of the individuals arrested and Perry in which the sides discuss how much the latter is willing to pay for ketamine.
For those who recall the horrible incident…
Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression; however, his latest therapy was a week and a half prior to his death, meaning the ketamine in his system via autopsy was NOT doctor-prescribed.
The 54-year old Friends alum suffered from addiction for many years, including throughout most of his stint on this iconic NBC sitcom.
An autopsy report last year concluded that Perry passed away from acute effects of ketamine.
Other contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease and effects from buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.
To his extreme credit, Perry wrote candidly about his substance abuse battle in the memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side again,” Perry told People Magazine for a 2022 cover story.
“I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. I was pretty certain that it would help people if I did.”
Perry also cited his ketamine infusions while in a Swiss rehab clinic during the Covid-19 pandemic in this same book.
“Ketamine was a very popular street drug in the 1980s. There is a synthetic form of it now, and it’s used for two reasons: to ease pain and help with depression,” he said, adding:
“Has my name written all over it — they might as well have called it ‘Matty.’“
In the wake of Perry’s death, his former co-stars have shared a number of tributes to their close friend.
“He visits me a lot, if we believe in that,” Courteney Cox said of Perry on the May 19 episode of CBS Sunday Morning.
“I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew. I feel like there are a lot of people that guide us. I sense Matthew’s around for sure.”
She continued at the time of her onscreen romantic partner:
“I think he’s probably one of the funniest human beings in the world. He is genuinely a huge heart — obviously struggled. I’m so thankful I got to work so closely with him for so many years.”
