A California doctor who supplied ketamine linked to the death of Friends star Matthew Perry has been sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release, becoming the second individual sentenced in the federal case.
Dr. Mark Chavez, a San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty to obtaining ketamine through a fraudulent prescription and selling it to Dr.
Salvador Plasencia, who then supplied the dissociative anesthetic to Perry. Plasencia was sentenced earlier this month to 30 months in prison.
The two doctors are among five defendants—including Perry’s live-in assistant, Erik Fleming, and a dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen,” Jasveen Sangha—who have pleaded guilty to drug-related charges. The latter three are scheduled for sentencing in the coming months.
The case stems from a multiyear federal investigation into an underground Hollywood drug network that Perry accessed.
While the actor had been prescribed ketamine legitimately for depression and anxiety, he soon sought amounts beyond his prescription.
A 2023 autopsy concluded Perry died from the “acute effects” of ketamine, which was found at a high concentration in his system.
Perry, 54, was found dead in his Los Angeles home in October 2023.
By James Kisoo
