A ketamine specialist weighs in Matthew Perry’‘s cause of death, claiming that the actor had “insulted himself.”
Matthew Perry had a large quantity of the drug with him ketamine in his system at the time of death – the same amount that would be used in general anesthesia.
Toxicological research has shown that ketamine levels are within Perry’s system was 3540 ng/ml. For context, the report, obtained by The Blast, states: “In controlled surgical anesthesiology care, general anesthesia levels are typically between 1000 and 6000 ng/ml.”
In other words, he had a large amount of the drug in his systemenough to render him unconscious.
Doctor weighs in on Matthew Perry’s death
![Toxicology report reveals how much ketamine was in Matthew Perry's system](https://theblast.prod.media.wordpress.mattersmedia.io/2023/12/15150453/Matthew-Perry-Ketamine-Use-scaled.jpg)
Dr. Philip Wolfson, author of “The Ketamine Papers: Science, Therapy and Transformation,” claims Perry ingested a large amount of ketamine before getting into the hot tub.
“He really delved into it. He must have taken a large amount of money with him. You don’t do this and go swimming or into a pool,” Wolfson said The mail.
Although Matthew Perry used ketamine therapy, his last known treatment occurred a week before his death, meaning the ketamine found in his system could not have come from the therapy as the drug’s half-life is only three to four hours amounts to.
![Matthew Perry may have predicted his death in a 'Friends' episode](https://theblast.prod.media.wordpress.mattersmedia.io/2023/10/29080212/Matthew-Perry-Drugs-scaled.jpg)
The drug is approved for use in high doses as an anesthetic in the operating room. Although ketamine has been approved and legalized by the FDA for use as a general anesthetic since the 1970s, it can be abused as a recreational drug.
Angelique Campen, an emergency room physician at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, also spoke out, telling CBS News that ketamine can be dangerous when taken recreationally.
“What I foresee happening to him is that it puts you in some sort of trance state, so he was probably in a trance in the hot tub, slipped under the water and drowned,” she told the outlet. “So the ketamine itself doesn’t stop your breathing, but it can keep you from waking up when you’re underwater.”
Lower dosage ketamine is not FDA approved and those injections are used “off-label” to treat depression, pain and other mental/substance use disorders.
Many celebrities, including Elon Musk, Sharon Osbourne and Lamar Odom, have used ketamine therapy to help with mental health and struggles with addiction.
Matthew Perry died from ‘acute effects of ketamine’
![Matthew Perry may have predicted his death in a 'Friends' episode](https://theblast.prod.media.wordpress.mattersmedia.io/2023/10/29080212/Matthew-Perry-Drugs-scaled.jpg)
In October, police responded to a 911 call to assist with a possible “water rescue” at Matthew Perry’s home in Pacific Palisades. When they arrived, they found the 54-year-old actor in the heated area of his pool, face down and unresponsive.
Prescription antidepressants and anxiety medications were found in Matthew Perry’s home, but no loose pills or prescriptions were found in the pool, according to the autopsy report obtained by The Blast.
“The cause of death for 54-year-old actor Matthew Langford Perry was the acute effects of ketamine. Contributing factors in Mr. Perry’s death include drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder),” according to the documents, obtained by The Blast.
The manner of death was ruled accidental.