Topline
Jasveen Sangha, the alleged drug dealer to the stars who is accused of supplying “Friends” actor Matthew Perry with ketamine leading up to his death, has been involved in more than one fatal overdose and has for years used her Hollywood home as a “drug-selling emporium” for the rich and famous to fund a lavish lifestyle, according to multiple reports.
Actor Matthew Perry on Aug. 10, 2015 in West Hollywood.
Key Facts
Authorities announced five people had been arrested in Perry’s death Thursday, including the so-called “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, who is accused of selling the actor’s personal assistant 50 vials of ketamine for approximately $11,000 over the course of two weeks.
Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for California’s central district, said a search of Sangha’s home revealed a ” drug selling emporium” filled with ketamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, scales and ledgers, and said Perry’s was the second ketamine overdose death she is linked to.
Sangha, accused of selling drugs for five years, only worked with high-end clients and celebrities, the BBC reported, and parlayed her money and connections into lavish parties, attending events like the Golden Globes and the Oscars and to fund extravagant trips.
Prosecutors say Sangha started supplying Perry ketamine in September of 2023, the month before he died, and have accused her, among others, of caring “more about profiting off of Mr Perry than caring for his well-being.”
Sangha faces life in prison on nine charges related to Perry’s death—conspiracy to distribute ketamine, maintaining drug-involved premises, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
She is also expected to be charged in the death of Cody McLaury, a customer who died in 2019 and whose family allegedly told her McLaury had died of an overdose before she Google searched, “can ketamine be listed as a cause of death(?)”
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What To Watch For
Sangha will be held without bail at least until her next hearing on Oct. 15. She has a second federal case pending in the same district from March, when she was charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to an affidavit on file. She was previously free on bail in that case.
Key Background
Perry was best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the hit 1990s sitcom “Friends,” starring alongside Jennifer Annison, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc. He’d been open about his struggles with addiction to drugs and alcohol and, at one point, production on “Friends” was stopped so he could enter in-patient rehab for addictions to substances including Vicodin and amphetamines. He estimated he’d spent as much as $9 million trying to get sober and had more than a dozen stints in rehab over the course of his life. On Oct. 28, 2023, Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. An autopsy determined Perry died from the effects of ketamine and Buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat opioid use disorder, was also in his system. Perry had been receiving ketamine-infusion therapy for depression and anxiety regularly before his death but had also turned to recreational use, officials say. On Tuesday, Sangha was one of five people charged in his death. Also facing charges are two physicians, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia; Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa; and Erik Fleming, a friend of the actor’s.
Tangent
Ketamine is sold as a powder or liquid injectable and is a dissociative anesthetic with some hallucinogenic effects. The drug is legally used for sedation in hospitals, for palliative care and cancer pain, as a therapeutic drug and as the main form of anesthesia for cats in veterinary settings. Use of Ketamine in the U.S. remains comparably low, according to a 2021 study by New York University, and is used by less than 1% of people.
Further Reading
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes reporter who covers breaking news with a frequent focus on the entertainment industry, streaming, sports news, publishing, pop culture and climate change. She joined Forbes in 2023 and lives in Dallas. She’s covered Netflix’s hottest documentaries, a surge of assaults reported on social media, the most popular books of the year and how climate change stands to impact the way we eat. Roeloffs was included on Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “ 25 Under 30” list in 2023 and worked covering local news in the greater Boston area from 2017 to 2023. She graduated with a double major in political science and journalism from Northeastern University. Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics.
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