The judicial process for the death of Matthew Perry, the star of Friends, concludes Wednesday with the sentencing of the actor’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, in a case that unraveled ketamine trafficking in Hollywood and opened a new era of accountability.

Perry died on October 28, 2023, after Iwamasa administered at least three consecutive ketamine injections to him.

The death of the star, who had acknowledged his addiction problems on multiple occasions, put public focus on how the illegal sale and supply of prescription drugs in the U.S. is considered a drug trafficking problem.

The investigation, involving the Los Angeles Police Department, the DEA, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, revealed a network of five individuals: two doctors (Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez), a key contact (Erik Fleming), a drug trafficker (Jasveen Sangha), nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen,” and the actor’s assistant.

Iwamasa was the first of the five defendants to reach an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to plead guilty to distributing ketamine resulting in death and became the most important witness in the case.

His testimony helped uncover how he was able to acquire more than 50 vials of the anesthetic—half of them just four days before the death of the actor who played Chandler Bing on Friends.

A Symbolic Case

Authorities involved in the judicial process have maintained that high-publicity cases can play a crucial role in deterring illicit drug-related activities.

“This case (of Perry’s death)... sends a clear message: we will hold drug traffickers accountable for the deaths they cause,” said Martin Estrada, then-U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, when presenting the indictment for the actor’s death.

Meanwhile, Anne Milgram, then-administrator of the DEA who led the investigation, said in an interview with Face the Nation that the case was part of what she considered “the greatest narcotics threat we have ever faced.”

Legal experts have echoed these views. Litigation attorney Andrew Pickett, who practices in Florida, emphasized in a 2024 interview with CNN that the focus on high-profile cases like Perry’s is largely due to the visibility they give to the problem, helping to shed light on the broader implications of the U.S. drug crisis.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has recommended a sentence of approximately 41 months in prison for Iwamasa—far below the maximum penalty he faced—due to his cooperation, which helped secure a 15-year prison sentence for Sangha, the main person responsible in the case.

In addition, doctors Chavez and Plasencia were sentenced to eight months of home detention and 30 months in federal prison, respectively.

Fleming, the key contact who coordinated the delivery of ketamine to Perry’s home, was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

Justice for Perry

In the indictment, the prosecution stated that those involved “cared more about profiting at Mr. Perry’s expense than looking out for his well-being.” Iwamasa, 60, has sought to refute that accusation.

In a recent leniency petition, he told Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who will deliver her sentence this Wednesday, that he could not “simply say no” when it came to feeding Perry’s drug addiction, according to documents cited by TMZ.

That version has not been accepted by Suzanne Morrison, the actor’s mother, who asserted in a letter submitted to the court that her son “paid the price” for trusting his personal assistant.

“Instead of protecting Matthew, he facilitated and encouraged illegal drug use,” the woman warned the court.