The doctor accused of supplying the drug, which eventually killed him, gave disturbing details about the drug’s effect on the actor’s body.
Matthew Perry died in the fall of 2023 PHOTO: Archive
Special K, Ket or Kit Kat was popular as a party drug in the late 1990s, when it was commonly consumed at all-night raves – despite its sedative effects, writes dailymail.co.uk.
But its popularity waned in the 2000s when it became a Schedule III drug in the UK and concerns arose about side effects, including hallucinations and, in rare cases, seizures.
Now the drug is in the spotlight again for its role in the death of Friends star Matthew Perry, who was injected with ketamine 21 times in the week before his death.
The doctor accused of supplying the drug, which eventually killed him, recounted disturbing details about the drug’s effect on the actor’s body – including seizures and “frost”,
just a few days before his death.
It revealed how the substance – currently used in private clinics for its supposed anti-depressant effect – can wreak havoc on the body within an hour of taking a large dose, leaving users paralyzed, unable to breathe and choking on their own vomit .
Even in small doses, long-term use can cause serious and irreversible damage to the bladder and kidneys, as well as excruciating abdominal pain – sometimes known as k-cramps.
Ketamine works as an anesthetic by blocking the neurotransmitter N-methyl-D-aspartate (NDMA), which controls actions in the nervous system.
It can quickly diminish sensations, prevent pain, induce sleep or even inhibit memory.
For this reason, it is usually given in small doses for non-anesthetic purposes and in large doses as an anesthetic in a medical setting, such as before surgery.
At lower doses, it gives users a sense of euphoria, out-of-body experiences, and hallucinations.
If injected, the effects of ketamine can take over in as little as a minute. Users typically feel such effects within five to 15 minutes if inhaled and half an hour if swallowed.
Inhaling ketamine leads to a “feeling” stronger, may present a greater risk of addiction and may affect the nasal passages.
While its effects – when administered in smaller doses – can last about an hour, a user’s coordination or senses may be affected for up to 24 hours after initial use.
The signs and symptoms of a ketamine overdose or toxicity can vary depending on the amount of Ket consumed.
Typically, within minutes of taking the drug, users experience an increase in heart rate and even palpitations.
At the same time, blood pressure drops within 10 to 20 minutes, resulting in a feeling of dizziness and fainting. A rapid dramatic decline acts as a key sign of an overdose or toxicity, which can happen with a single large dose.
Its numbing effect also makes users stop reacting faster.
When in this state, users experience rapid involuntary eye movements, dilated pupils and stiffening of muscles so that they “freeze”.
Its effect on muscle relaxation also suppresses the respiratory system, leading to sudden difficulty swallowing and making it difficult for people to breathe.
This lack of oxygen, in turn, can even lead to permanent brain damage.
Tolerance to this recreational drug, which usually comes in crystalline powder or liquid form, is known to develop rapidly.
This leads to users needing more and more to feel the same high, which increases the risk of overdosing or experiencing adverse side effects.
Higher doses can also lead to a phenomenon called the “k-hole,” an intense feeling of dissociation, delirium, and disconnection or inability to connect to reality.
According to the Bristol Drugs Project, a drug and alcohol charity, a high and potentially fatal dose is around 150mg, compared to a typical dose of 30-75mg.
Experts have long warned that while death from ketamine poisoning is rare because paralysis is a side effect of taking the drug, if users start vomiting they risk choking on their own vomit.
Shocking details of the days leading up to Matthew Perry’s death emerged Thursday when Plascencia and four other alleged conspirators were arrested following a grand jury indictment.
Perry was found unconscious in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on October 28 by his assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.
His cause of death was later determined to be “acute effects of ketamine”.
Iwamasa has since admitted that he was the one who administered the fatal doses to the actor after Plascencia taught him how to administer them.
On October 4, Iwamasa reported that he had successfully injected Perry, noting that “he found the right spot, but after trying different places he ran out of ketamine.”
The statement alleges that Perry spent $55,000 on ketamine supplied by Plascencia in the two months before his death, and that Iwamasa injected Perry with 27 doses of ketamine in just five days.
Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
The autopsy found that an amount of Perry’s blood was within the range used for general anesthesia during surgery and indicated “acute effects of ketamine” as the main cause of death.
Experts have long warned that the growing use of ketamine was driven by both its affordability and availability.
It is thought to cost around £20 a gram, compared to £40 a gram for MDMA and £100 a gram for cocaine.
They suggested high-profile backers, including Elon Musk, who earlier this year revealed the drug at “helped” to “get out of a negative state of mind.”
The figures, published by the Office for National Statistics, show that one in twenty (4.8%) 20-24-year-olds in England and Wales admitted to taking the drug last year, which is more popular with men.
Compared to just 0.9% across all age groups.
But activists called ketamine and “the campus killer,” being linked to dozens of student deaths in recent years, according to the National Substance Abuse Deaths Program.
Ketamine is licensed in the UK only as an anesthetic but can be prescribed without a license as a pain reliever. These versions are for medical use and have been proven to be safe.
The class B drug is also being increasingly studied as a potential therapeutic for depression and PTSD.
