Matthew Perry, 54 years old and friend forever around the world from the series Friends, was playing pickleball on October 28. His assistant later found him lifeless in the jacuzzi at his home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
This is what the autopsy states, in which it is emphasized that suffocation is only a secondary factor in his death. The actor, who had more than known problems with alcoholism and drug abuse for decades, died from the "acute effects of ketamine", an anesthetic with psychedelic properties that has been widely used in hospitals.
In addition to the suffocation, other secondary factors that contributed to the outcome were coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, used for opioid addiction. No traces of alcohol, methamphetamine or cocaine were detected. His death is classified as accidental. Aside from its use as a powerful anesthetic, ketamine has been used as a recreational drug for its “out of body” hallucinations. However, it has increasingly gained popularity as an alternative therapy for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and the treatment of other mental problems.
As soon as the cause of his death became known, passages from his memoir Friends, lovers and the big terrible thing ( Amics, amants i tólo tan terrible, in the Catalan version), published in 2021, went online. There he explains his experience with this substance and reports its effects. "It was a very popular drug on the streets during the eighties. Now there is a synthetic form that is used for two reasons: to relieve pain and to help with depression,” he wrote. "It has my name written all over it, Matty," he emphasized in his account.
He confessed that he started receiving ketamine infusions at a rehabilitation clinic in Switzerland during the period of the covid pandemic. He assured that he felt "dissociated" and it was "like dying". He took it blindfolded and listening to music. He experienced a "giant exaltation", although he was not convinced. "I thought, phew! This is what happens when you die. And it continued because it was something different and that always attracts", he added.
Although he added: “Ketamine is not for me. Taking K is like being hit over the head with a huge shovel of happiness, but the hangover is tough and weighs more than the shovel,” he explained.
Despite these comments, the actor continued to consume her. "Due to the high levels of ketamine found in the post-mortem blood samples, the main lethal effect would be both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory failure," the autopsy said. "Perry had been prescribed ketamine infusions as part of his therapy for depression and anxiety," the report said. But her last session took place a week to a week and a half before her death, which means she underwent unmonitored sessions.
Her caregiver testified that Perry was taking buprenorphine twice a day on a psychiatrist's prescription. Investigators found traces of sedatives. According to this report, he had been "clean" for 19 months from the drugs that tortured him since he was a teenager. His assistant commented that Perry had not been ill, had not complained about his health or given signs of relapse into his old habits.
Perry became his character. He was better known as Chandler Bing, one of the protagonists of Friends, characterized by his sarcasm and witty phrases. Currently, because despite the fact that the series lasted for ten seasons, between 1994 and 2004, dominating prime time, it has not stopped being programmed in the United States. In fact, since Perry's death it has had a spectacular increase in audience.
He participated in films. Not one gave Perry the success of Friends. In fact, none of his colleagues have achieved this peak in subsequent jobs.
