A ketamine specialist is weighing in on Matthew Perry‘s cause of death, claiming the actor “did himself in.”
Matthew Perry had a large amount of the drug ketamine in his system at the time of death — the same amount that would be used in general anesthesia.
Toxicology testing found that ketamine levels in Perry’s system were at 3540 ng/ml. For context, the report, obtained by The Blast, reads, “In monitored surgical-anesthesiology care, levels of general anesthesia are typically in the 1000-6000 ng/ml range.”
In other words, he had a large amount of the drug in his system, enough to render him unconscious.
Doctor Weighs In On Matthew Perry’s Death
Dr. Philip Wolfson, author of “The Ketamine Papers: Science, Therapy and Transformation,” claims Perry took a large amount of ketamine before he got into the hot tub.
“He really did himself in. He must have taken a large amount. You don’t do this and go swimming or go into a pool of any sort,” Wolfson told The Post.
Although Matthew Perry was utilizing ketamine therapy, his last known treatment was one week before his death, meaning the ketamine found in his system could not have been from therapy as the drug’s half-life is only three to four hours.
The drug is approved for use at high doses as an anesthetic in the operating room. Even though ketamine has been FDA-approved and legalized for use as a general anesthetic since the 1970s, it can be abused as a recreational drug.
Angelique Campen, an emergency room doctor at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, also spoke out, telling CBS News that ketamine can be dangerous when taken recreationally.
“What I foresee happened with him is, what it does is put you in kind of a trance state, so he probably was in the hot tub in a trance state, slipped under the water, and drowned,” she told the outlet. “So, the ketamine in and of itself doesn’t stop your breathing, but it can keep you from waking up if you are submerged.”
Lower dosage of ketamine is not FDA-approved, and those injections are used “off-label” to treat depression, pain, and other mental health/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’
In October, police responded to a 911 call to assist with a possible ‘water rescue’ at Matthew Perry’s Pacific Palisades home. When they arrived, they found the 54-year-old actor in the heated section of his pool, face down, unresponsive.
Prescription anti-depressants and prescription anti-anxiety medications were found in Matthew Perry‘s home, but no loose pills or prescriptions were found in the pool area, per the autopsy report obtained by The Blast.
“The cause of death for 54-year-old actor Matthew Langford Perry as 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),” the documents, obtained by The Blast, state.
The manner of death was ruled an accident.