Matthew Perry’s previous accounts of the drug ketamine, which has been ruled to have played a role in his death, are coming to light.
Over a month after the “Friends” star was found dead due to an apparent drowning at his California home, his cause of death was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to an autopsy report, Perry died of “acute effects of ketamine.” How he took ketamine is unclear, and the report states that the drug likely made Perry unconscious, which led to drowning.
“At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular over stimulation and respiratory depression,” the report states.
The autopsy found several contributing factors to Perry’s death, including drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement.
The autopsy report states that Perry had been “reportedly clean for 19 months” and had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy, an experience the actor wrote about in his 2022 memoir. Ketamine can be used to treat mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, and can also be used recreationally.
Perry’s last known ketamine infusion therapy session was one and a half weeks before his death, according to the autopsy report.
“The ketamine in his system could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less,” the report states.
What did Perry say about ketamine?
Perry opened up about his experience with ketamine therapy in “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” saying that he used the drug “to ease pain and help with depression.”
“Ketamine felt like a giant exhale,” he wrote. “They’d bring me into a room, sit me down, put headphones on me so I would listen to music, blindfold me, and put an IV in.”
He explained that the IV…
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