In October 2023, Friends actor Matthew Perry was found dead in his own home in Los Angeles. According to the autopsy report, he must have taken an overdose of ketamine, before he drowned in the hot tub he was in. Now five people have been arrested and charged with having contributed to Perry’s death, including the woman who is called the “ketamine queen” of Los Angeles. Ketamine Ketamine is a fast-acting painkiller and anaesthetic. The drug is often used as an anesthetic in animals, but also in humans in shorter surgical interventions. In recent times, ketamine has become more commonly used in the treatment of depression. In a suitable single dose, ketamine can induce sleep and prevent the conscious experience of pain for 20–30 minutes. Ketamine, like many other psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, can lead to dissociation and hallucinations. “Apothecary” Jasveen Sangha is said to have been a kind of “pharmacy” for the stars in Hollywood, according to the prosecution. – Police investigators searched Sangha’s home, and during the search they found what amounted to a drug empire, State Attorney Martin Estrada stated during a press conference on Thursday. Among other things, 80 vials of ketamine were found, in addition to 1.4 kilograms of various drugs – including prescription drugs, according to the state attorney’s office’s report. In total, she is charged with nine counts. Jasveen Sangha allegedly only sold drugs to celebrities and other high-status people. Photo: Screenshot / Instagram Sangha has said that she only deals with people of high status, or celebrities, said one of those involved in the case. – She knows many people in the industry. We have been to the Golden Globes and the Oscars together, says her friend Clancy Carter to the Daily Mail. She is said to have known Sangha since 2008. Carter says that Sangha comes from a rich family. The friend did not understand why she got involved in large-scale drug sales. Also in 2019, Sangha is said to have sold ketamine to a person who died of an overdose, the prosecution believes. Injected Perry 21 times A further four others have been charged. Two doctors, a former film director and Perry’s personal assistant. The doctors are Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez. They both allegedly sold ketamine to Matthew Perry. Chavez acquired the drug through his former workplace, a ketamine clinic in California. Martin Estrada is the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. Photo: David Swanson / Reuters – Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit from Perry. In a text message he sent in September 2023, he wrote “I wonder how much this idiot will pay,” says Estrada. The former film director Erik Fleming allegedly sold Perry the ketamine that eventually killed him. He had bought it from Jasveen Sangha. In total, Fleming allegedly delivered 50 small vials of ketamine to Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. Half of these were sold four days before Perry died. From September to October 2023, Perry paid around 55,000 dollars, just under 600,000 kroner, for 20 glasses of ketamine. Each glass contains between ten and 20 doses. Iwamasa had lived at Perry’s house for a long time and acted as a kind of nurse. The assistant pleaded guilty to injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including several times on the day Perry died. During the last week of Matthew Perry’s life, Iwamasa injected him with ketamine at least 21 times, writes CNN. Develops tolerance Ketamine is used, among other things, as anesthesia or to treat depression. But the doses that Matthew Perry used are far higher than what is used in medical treatment. That’s what Lowan Stewart, emergency physician and medical director at Axonklinikken, who uses ketamine in the treatment of depression, says. Doctor Lowan Stewart is an American doctor, and is the medical director at Axonklinikken. He believes that ketamine treatment is among the most effective forms of treatment for depression. Photo: Axonklinikken He says that if ketamine is used correctly, it can be a relatively safe and effective way to treat depression. But overconsumption can cause damage to the bladder and kidneys. Not least, you quickly build up tolerance. – When you use it daily, or several times a day, you can develop a tolerance where you use larger and larger doses, says Stewart to news. But immunity never develops. – You can always take an overdose. And Perry took an overdose, emphasizes Stewart. He is nevertheless concerned that ketamine is among the treatments for depression that give the best results. But even during the most intensive treatments, the patient is usually not injected with more than three doses in one week. He also says that there can be a fine line between whether something is a safe medicine or a dangerous drug: – I have heard from many, many patients that they are alive today because of the treatment they have received. People who were on several types of antidepressants, who had tried electroshock therapy and had tried to kill themselves many, many times, emphasizes Stewart. Published 16.08.2024, at 22.15 Updated 16.08.2024, at 23.11
ttn-69
Five Arrested After Matthew Perry’s Death – LA ‘Ketamine Queen’ Arrested
