Cause of Death for Actor Matthew Perry Has Been Released

Matt Vespa | December 16, 2023 11:15 AM

On October 28, actor Matthew Perry was found dead in his hot tub by his assistant in Los Angeles. Perry, known to all as ‘Chandler’ from the popular television series Friends, had just released his memoir, where he gets candid about his past drug and alcohol addictions. The actor spent about $9 million to get sober, including multiple stints in rehab and over a dozen addiction-relate surgeries, the most serious stemming from a burst colon in 2018 due to pervasive opiate abuse.

Prescription drugs were found at the scene. The actor had played a few pickleball rounds and later sent his assistant on an errand. When this person returned, Perry was found unresponsive in his hot tub. Speculation increased about how the actor died when news of the prescription drugs was confirmed. All that was left was the toxicology report, which was released on Friday. Perry died of “acute effects of ketamine” (via NYT):

Matthew Perry, the “Friends” actor who publicly struggled with drinking and drug use for decades, died from the “acute effects” of ketamine, an anesthetic with psychedelic properties, the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said in an autopsy report that was released on Friday.
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The medical examiner’s office said that drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of an opioid, buprenorphine, had contributed to his death.
But the autopsy ascribed his death primarily to “the acute effects of ketamine.” Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic that has become increasingly popular as an alternative therapy for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other hard-to-treat mental health problems. It is also used recreationally.
The autopsy report said that Perry had been on ketamine infusion therapy but that the ketamine in his system could not have been from his last known therapy session, which was about a week and a half before he died.