Federal authorities said their investigation into the death of actor Matthew Perry revealed an “extensive underground criminal network” of drug suppliers distributing large quantities of ketamine in Los Angeles.
Hollywood has turned into a real wild west of drugs PHOTO Archive
Federal court documents detail Perry’s final months of life and the transition from his treatments at a ketamine clinic for depression and anxiety, where a doctor administered the drug and monitored side effects, to an addiction that led him to “unscrupulous doctors” and a network of street dealers, according to the BBC.
Perry has been open about his addiction issues, which he’s battled for decades — even dating back to when he played Chandler Bing on the show “Friends”.
But in his memoirs Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thinghe said he eventually got off the drug, and a woman told investigators at the coroner’s office that she believed Perry had been off drugs for the past 19 months.
Sometime around this time, he began receiving ketamine infusion therapy. Experts say his history of addiction contributed to him quickly becoming addicted to the drug.
The federal investigation found that over the course of nearly two months before his death, Perry purchased dozens of vials of ketamine for thousands of dollars.
In the three days before his death, his assistant injected him with ketamine at least six times a day.
The toxic relationship between celebrities and doctors
Numerous doctors and experts who spoke to the BBC for this story discussed the toxic relationship between celebrities and medicine.
“VIP treatment is usually not the best treatment”said Dr. Gerard Sanacora, director of the Depression Research Program at Yale University.
“Doctors are human too, and despite taking the Hippocratic Oath, not all of them follow it”he added, acknowledging that doctors can “lose perspective when they have a VIP client” and there are promises of invitations to large parties or donations to research programs or charities.
Dr. Mahjoubi, who operates two ketamine clinics in California — including one in Los Angeles — said when celebrities are your patients, it can be hard to maintain normal boundaries.
patient “He was constantly asking me for favors — ‘hey, refill my prescription’ — and it was, like, Sunday night.”
He also said he saw how ketamine became a “party drug” for celebrities, who think it’s safer than something like cocaine, which can be mixed with deadly drugs like fentanyl.
Another Los Angeles-area physician who operates several pain management centers — another condition for which ketamine is promoted — called the spread of ketamine treatments the new “wild west”.
Everyone wants to be “doctor to the stars here”explained the doctor. Some will go so far as to offer free treatments or close the clinic or practice to private access, all in the hope that the star patient will post about their treatment on social media.
Many of these stars are “used to being told ‘yes’. If you don’t tell them, they will go to someone else who will give them what they want”he said.
A new “epidemic”
A simple Google search for “ketamine prescription” reveals a multitude of advertisements for online companies touting the benefits “psychedelic therapy” for treating conditions ranging from depression and anxiety to Lyme disease and chronic pain, with some offering a subscription of as little as $100 a month to get the drug.
The only problem is that this drug has not been approved to treat these conditions.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – the regulatory agency responsible for approving drugs and ensuring they are safe, effective and properly labeled – has approved ketamine only for general anesthesia used under the supervision of a physician.
Although FDA regulations restrict pharmaceutical companies that “produce, distribute or package,” does not restrict new start-ups such as online clinics by wellness.
Two weeks before Perry’s death, the FDA warned consumers about off-label use of ketamine, citing “lack of monitoring for adverse events, such as sedation and dissociation, by an on-site health care provider who may put patients at risk.”
