Matthew Perry's cause of death revealed as acute effects of ketamine

Matthew Perry's cause of death revealed as acute effects of ketamine
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Matthew Perry’s cause of death has been confirmed, weeks after he unexpectedly died.

The “Friends” star died of acute effects of ketamine, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Matthew Perry’s cause of death

The 54-year-old actor’s cause of death was listed as acute effects of ketamine. Ketamine is used as a therapy for mental illnesses like depression and anxiety, and it’s also used recreationally. The coroner report did not specify how Perry was using 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 manner of death is accident,” the coroner report read. 

What are the effects of ketamine?

Ketamine is a “dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects,” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. It can make the person using it feel disconnected from their environment and pain. It can also create a feeling of sedation and immobility.

How can ketamine lead to death?

When a person overdoses on ketamine, they may go unconscious and their breathing may slow to a dangerous degree, according to the DEA.

What is ketamine therapy?

Ketamine therapy is when the drug, approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration for decades as an anesthetic, is used, usually either by infusion or injection or inhaling, to treat mental illnesses like depression or anxiety, TODAY previously reported. In fact, the FDA has approved a nasal spray called Spravato, which contains esketamine, for treatment-resistant depression. It’s an inhaled version that must be administered in a doctor’s office, and it is approved only for people for whom other treatments have failed.

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Growing research shows that ketamine can be a powerful way to treat depression that hasn’t improved with other medication or cognitive behavioral therapy. It’s unclear exactly how ketamine may improve depression and anxiety symptoms, but it may boost feel-good chemicals, similar to traditional antidepressants, reduce inflammation and help form new pathways in the brain that can encourage new behaviors and thought patterns, Mike Dow, a psychotherapist at ketamine clinic Field Trip, in Los Angles previously told TODAY.

How did Matthew Perry die?

Perry’s cause of death was due to effects of ketamine, an anesthetic that is used both recreationally and in treatment for various mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety.

Perry was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades, California, home on Oct. 28. He was pronounced dead of an apparent drowning, according to authorities.

The official cause of death had been pending a toxicology report and further investigation, per a report released on Oct. 29 by the medical examiner’s office. Additionally, on his death certificate, the cause of death was listed as deferred.

As news of his death was announced, two law enforcement sources had told NBC News that there were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play.

Did Matthew Perry relapse?

It’s unclear if Perry relapsed before his death, as ketamine can be used both therapeutically and recreationally.

The “17 Again” leading man was buried in an intimate funeral on Nov. 3 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, according to People.

His “Friends” co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer were in attendance, per the magazine.

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Perry had been open about his health problems due to drugs and alcohol and his hope of helping others struggling with addiction. He estimated to the New York Times that he spent $9 million trying to get sober, detailing this journey in his memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”

“I lived half my life in one form or another of treatment center or sober living house. Which is fine when you are twenty-four years old, less fine when you’re forty-two years old,” the book’s prologue reads. “Now I was forty-nine, still struggling to get this monkey off my back.”

He also told radio host Tom Power in a November 2022 interview that he didn’t like to watch “Friends” episodes because he could tell when he was struggling with his addictions.

Perry also faced several health issues, including a near-death experience in 2019. After his colon erupted, he went into a two-week-long coma and was subsequently hospitalized for five months.

Despite his struggles, Perry wanted to help others with their sobriety journey.

“When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned,” he told Power of helping people get sober. “And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”

Almost a week after his death, on Nov. 3, the Matthew Perry Foundation was announced to help people struggling with addiction.

CORRECTION (Dec. 15, 2023, 7:32 p.m.): An earlier version of this article stated that a nasal spray called Spravato contains ketamine. It contains esketamine.

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