'Ketamine Queen' Jasveen Sangha Jailed for 15 Years Over Matthew Perry's Death
Jasveen Sangha, the Los Angeles drug dealer dubbed the "Ketamine Queen," has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for her role in supplying the ketamine that caused the overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry in October 2023 — a case that has shone a harsh light on the dangers of ketamine misuse and the criminal networks that exploit vulnerable individuals seeking relief from mental health conditions. The sentence was handed down on 8 April by US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also imposed three years of supervised release. Sangha had pleaded guilty in September 2025 to five federal charges, including distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Background
Matthew Perry, who was 54 and best known for playing Chandler Bing in the globally beloved sitcom Friends, was found dead at his Pacific Palisades home on 28 October 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined his death was an accidental overdose due to the acute effects of ketamine, with contributing factors including drowning and coronary artery disease. Perry had been undergoing legal ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety — a treatment that has gained significant traction in recent years for treatment-resistant mental health conditions — but had sought unsupervised doses, leading to a spiralling dependence. The high levels of ketamine found in his system at the time of his death could not have been from his last known therapy session, which was a week and a half before he died, as confirmed by the Associated Press.
Ketamine is a powerful dissociative anaesthetic that is increasingly being used to treat depression and other mental health conditions, but its misuse carries severe health consequences. Chronic use can cause serious urological damage, neurological and psychiatric problems including memory loss and cognitive impairment, cardiovascular issues, and addiction. The drug is also known on the street as "Special K" and has a long history of recreational misuse. Perry's death brought the risks of ketamine misuse to global attention, prompting renewed scrutiny of the regulatory frameworks governing its therapeutic use, as documented by the National Institutes of Health.
Key Developments
Sangha used her North Hollywood home to store, package, and distribute drugs including ketamine and methamphetamine from at least 2019. In the month Perry died, she and co-conspirator Erik Fleming sold him 51 vials of ketamine, which were then provided to Perry's live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who repeatedly injected the actor with the drug — including at least three shots on the day of his death. Prosecutors emphasised her "cold callousness and disregard for life" and her choice of "profits over people," noting that Sangha had been linked to another ketamine overdose death in 2019, demonstrating a pattern of reckless disregard for the consequences of her actions.
Perry's stepfather, journalist Keith Morrison, addressed Sangha directly at the sentencing, saying he did not hate her but that she "supplied an addict" and that Perry's possibilities "died with him." During the sentencing, Sangha expressed remorse, stating: "These were not mistakes. They were horrible decisions." Four other individuals were also charged in connection with Perry's death: Dr Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison in December 2025, while Dr Mark Chavez received eight months of home confinement. Erik Fleming and Kenneth Iwamasa are scheduled to be sentenced separately.
Why It Matters
The case has drawn global attention to the dangers of ketamine misuse and the criminal networks that supply illegal drugs to vulnerable individuals. It also raises profound questions about the regulatory environment surrounding ketamine therapy, which has expanded rapidly in recent years as a treatment for depression and PTSD. Perry's death illustrates how the line between therapeutic use and dangerous misuse can be crossed with devastating consequences, and how those who exploit that vulnerability for profit must face serious accountability. In 2023, over 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States, a crisis driven largely by illicitly manufactured fentanyl but encompassing a wide range of substances including ketamine.
Local Impact
While the case unfolded in Los Angeles, its resonance extends across the United Kingdom and Ireland, where Matthew Perry was a beloved figure whose portrayal of Chandler Bing brought joy to millions of viewers over a decade of Friends. The case has also prompted renewed discussion in the UK about the regulation of ketamine therapy, which is available in private clinics and is being considered for wider NHS use as a treatment for depression. Regulators and clinicians on both sides of the Irish Sea will be watching the outcome of the Perry case closely as they consider the appropriate safeguards for a powerful drug that carries significant risks alongside its therapeutic potential.
What's Next
Erik Fleming and Kenneth Iwamasa are yet to be sentenced, and their cases will keep the spotlight on the Perry tragedy for some months to come. The broader regulatory debate about ketamine therapy is expected to intensify in the wake of the sentencing, with advocates for tighter oversight pointing to the Perry case as evidence that the current framework is insufficient to protect vulnerable patients. For Sangha, the 15-year sentence represents a significant period of incarceration that Judge Garnett made clear was commensurate with the gravity of her crimes and the irreversible harm she caused.
