Matthew Perry Death: Doctor Linked to 'Friends' Star's Overdose Death Banned From Practicing

A Los Angeles doctor who agreed to plead guilty in the overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry had his license to practice medicine revoked by a federal court Friday.

Mark Chavez, 54, plans to admit that he illegally helped supply the actor, who played Chandler in the cult series, with ketamine, the drug that caused his overdose. His death, in his jacuzzi in October 2023, shocked fans of “Friends” and sparked a flood of tributes in Hollywood.

Another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, is accused of having bought ketamine from Mr. Chavez and having resold it, for a much higher price, to Matthew Perry. Jasveen Sangha, nicknamed “the queen of ketamine”, is accused of having supplied the actor with the dose that killed him.

Trial scheduled for October

Their trial is scheduled for October. Mark Chavez is expected to plead guilty by then to avoid trial, as are two other people targeted by the investigation.

The involvement of these doctors in the case had shed light on the toxic relationships that some Hollywood celebrities have with the doctors responsible for managing their addictions.

Ketamine, sometimes diverted for stimulant or euphoric purposes, was taken by the actor in a supervised manner as part of therapy sessions for depression.

But when an increase in dosage was refused, the actor relapsed into addiction in the fall of 2023, according to federal prosecutors, and turned to dealers and unscrupulous doctors.

A U.S. drug enforcement official called Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez “unscrupulous” doctors who “violated the Hippocratic oath.”

A hidden malaise

A true cultural phenomenon broadcast between 1994 and 2004, “Friends” marked a whole generation of viewers, telling the adventures of a group of happy friends in New York. But behind the scenes, Matthew Perry has long hidden a malaise behind his jovial character of Chandler. He had long struggled with his addiction to medication and alcohol.