Matthew Perry previously wrote about his experience with the drug ketamine while in rehab in his book Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner yesterday (15 December) announced that Perry's death, on 28 October, had been an accident following the 'acute effects of ketamine'.
Their full statement reads: "The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) determined the cause of death for 54-year-old actor Matthew Langford Perry as the acute effects of ketamine.
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"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.
"On October 28, at approximately 1600 hours, Mr. Perry was found unresponsive in the pool at his residence. After 911 was called, paramedics responded to the scene and death was pronounced.
"DME responded, conducted a scene investigation and then transported Mr. Perry’s body to the DME’s Forensic Science Center for examination.
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On October 29, the deputy medical examiner completed an autopsy on Mr. Perry. Following the completion and receipt of relevant test results, the cause and manner of death were certified."
According to Reuters, the drug would have overstimulated his heart while slowing down his breathing, with the report noting that the 'exact method of intake in Mr Perry's case is unknown', noting that there were no recent needle marks on his body and trace amounts of the drug in his stomach.
Perry had previously written about receiving ketamine infusion treatments in rehab and how he did not enjoy the experience.
The actor and addiction awareness campaigner wrote that when he was in rehab in Switzerland he underwent ketamine infusion therapy which made him feel like he was taking 'a giant exhale' but at times during the therapy he felt like he was 'dying'.
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Perry wrote that during his therapy, he would be taken into a room where he was given headphones and a blindfold before being hooked up to an IV.
The actor recalled that he 'often thought that I was dying during that hour' but persisted with the infusion treatments during his time in rehab.
"Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die," he wrote in Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
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"Yet I would continually sign up for this s**t because it was something different, and anything different is good.
"Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel."
Ultimately, he concluded in his book that the drug was 'not for me', while medical examiner's report noted that at the time of his death Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion treatments for depression, with his last recorded session a week-and-a-half before his death.
Topics: Matthew Perry, Celebrity
Joe Harker