Doctor Who Helped Sell Ketamine to Actor Matthew Perry Before His Overdose Death Avoids Prison Time

Matthew Perry at the Disney ABC Television Group Summer 2010 Press Tour, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA. 08-01-10

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor who pleaded guilty in a scheme to supply ketamine to actor Matthew Perry has been sentenced to 8 months of home confinement. A federal judge in Los Angeles has sentenced Dr. Mark Chavez of San Diego to 3 years of supervised release on Tuesday. The “Friends” star died from an overdose in 2023 from ketamine, which can be used legally as a treatment for depression. Chavez had acquired the ketamine and given it to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who sold it to Perry. Plasencia was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison earlier this month.

(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)