Matthew Perry’s Struggle with Ketamine Treatment Revealed in Memoir
In the aftermath of recent arrests related to Matthew Perry’s death, a closer look is being taken at how the late star discussed his use of ketamine treatment in his memoir.
Just a year before his passing, Perry wrote that he used ketamine “to ease pain and help with depression.”
“Ketamine was a very popular street drug in the 1980s. There is a synthetic form of it now,” he wrote. “Has my name written all over it — they might as well have called it ‘Matty.'”
Perry referred to the drug as a “giant exhale,” revealing that he would “disassociate” while receiving treatment.
Perry died from “the acute effects of ketamine,” according to the toxicology report. His death was initially ruled an accident, but on August 15, 2024, five individuals were charged in connection with Perry’s passing.
Each individual has differing charges, with one pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death. The others have pleaded not guilty to various charges.
In his book, Perry also noted that he felt like he was “dying” when going through the ketamine treatments, but explained why he would “continually sign up for this s–t.”
“It was something different, and anything different is good,” Perry wrote. “Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel.”
Overall, the Friends alum declared: “Ketamine was not for me.”
Court documents obtained in August 2024 allege that Perry and his former assistant spent nearly $55,000 on 55 vials of ketamine and numerous injections 29 days before he died.
Perry’s autopsy report also listed drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine as contributing factors in his passing. Perry’s death was ultimately ruled an accident.
Perry rose to fame playing Chandler Bing on Friends from 1994 to 2004. During his tenure on the famed NBC comedy, the actor struggled with substance abuse, something he wrote about in his memoir at length, revealing that he was “completely sober” for only one season of the show.
“You can track the trajectory of my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season — when I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills,” Perry wrote. “When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills.”
Prior to his sudden passing, Perry said that he wanted to be remembered as someone who “wants to help people,” despite his struggles.
“The best thing about me, bar none, is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me?’ I can say yes and follow up and do it,” he said during a November 2022 appearance on the “Q with Tom Power” podcast. “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, and I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”