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Los Angeles authorities revealed Friday that Matthew Perry died from “the acute effects of ketamine,” with an autopsy report suggesting that the Friends actor wasn’t just taking the drug—nicknamed Special K—to treat anxiety and depression, but also recreationally.
Medical complications stemming from ketamine are occurring with higher frequency in recent years, especially as it’s become popular to produce compounded versions of the drug.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert on Oct. 11, less than three weeks before Perry’s death, that warned about compounded ketamine misuse and its fatal consequences. Experts told The New York Times the same week that a pandemic-related boom in telehealth calls allowed people to receive large amounts of ketamine through the mail, which was far easier than physically going to the doctor, as was widely the norm before 2020.