Matthew Perry's Close Pals Are Reportedly 'Sad That He Was Surrounded By Enablers'

Five people have been criminally indicted in connection with Matthew Perry's passing after the actor's cause of death was determined to be a ketamine overdose.

The new charges have reportedly deeply affected the actor's close friends, who truly loved and cared about him and are sad he was "surrounded by enablers."

Matthew Perry was outspoken about his addiction battles for years and even detailed it in a memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing."

The recent criminal charges issued to five individuals in connection with Matthew Perry's tragic death have triggered a fresh wave of sorrow for his closest friends and circle.

Due to this development, a source revealed to People Magazine that the charges "brought back a lot of feelings" for Perry's closest pals, especially his co-stars from "Friends."

The source said, "Matthew did have true friends that loved and cared about him. They would have all tried to help him if he'd reached out. It makes them sad that he was surrounded by enablers."

Perry was found dead in his hot tub in October 2023, and soon after, a medical examiner declared his cause of death to be the "acute effects of ketamine."

The U.S. Attorney's Office has since announced that on Thursday, five individuals, including Perry's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, were criminally indicted in connection with the actor's death.

The other individuals were Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, who are doctors; Jasveen Sangha, a distributor also known as the "Ketamine Queen," and Eric Fleming, a broker.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada led the conference and described the individuals as a "broad underground criminal network."

"These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves," he added per Rolling Stones. "In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his wellbeing."

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani shared that Sangha is likely to get a very harsh sentence due to the major role she played in the supply of ketamine to Matthew Perry.

"Jasveen Sangha was the source of the ketamine that killed Perry, and she could easily receive a potential life sentence over his death," the lawyer said in a statement shared with The Blast. "There will be a lot of pressure on lower-level defendants and witnesses to flip on the doctor who provided the Ketamine or anyone else who played a role in getting it to Perry unlawfully."

He continued, "Ketamine is a drug that should be administered via an IV under a doctor's supervision, it's not a drug that should be sent home with a patient. It's a Schedule III controlled substance. Some doctors believe ketamine infusions can treat anxiety and depression, but it's one of the most abused party drugs. Perry should not have been using ketamine in a hot tub outside of a therapeutic setting."

"This is a very high-profile case, and this is going to send a message to doctors as well as dealers who are profiting from distributing ketamine," Rahmani added.

Perry had spoken about his drug use and addiction struggles in the past. He had about 15 stints in rehab and was seemingly in recovery until his relapse months before his tragic overdose and death.

During an interview with People Magazine in September 2022, Perry talked about his sobriety journey.

The actor shared that he had managed to remain primarily sober since 2001, with "about 60 or 70 little mishaps over the years."

He also shared his story in his memoir "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," where he noted that he almost died once after his colon burst from his heavy drug use.

In 2002, Perry told the news outlet that his addiction started after a terrible ski accident on the set of "Fools Rush In" in 1997.

He said, "It wasn't my intention to have a problem with it. But from the start, I liked how it made me feel, and I wanted to get more. I was out of control and very unhealthy."

In his press conference, Estrada said the police investigation discovered that Perry relapsed into drug use last fall.

"Mr. Perry fell back into addiction, and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves," the attorney stated.

Estrada emphasized that one of the defendants, Plasencia, knew "full well the danger of what he was doing" when he prescribed excess ketamine to Perry.

He said, "In fact, on one occasion, he injected Mr. Perry with ketamine, and he saw Mr. Perry freeze up and his blood pressure spike. Despite that, he left additional vials of ketamine for defendant Iwamasa to administer to Mr. Perry."

Estrada also spoke about the responsibility held by Iwamasa, who worked for Perry as his personal assistant for over 25 years and was familiar with his health issues and addiction struggle. It was Iwamasa who ultimately administered the dose of ketamine that killed Perry.