- Matthew Perry's death was caused by "acute effects of ketamine," the LA County coroner said.
- He had undergone ketamine infusion therapy to treat "depression and anxiety."
Matthew Perry wrote about his experience taking ketamine, the drug that led to his death, in his 2022 memoir.
The "Friends" actor, who was open about his battles with substance abuse, was found dead at his Los Angeles home on October 28. The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner gave the cause of death as "the acute effects of ketamine."
The full autopsy report stated that Perry had been going through "ketamine therapy infusion therapy for depression and anxiety."
Writing in "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," Perry wrote about his experience receiving the therapy while in a Swiss rehab clinic during the pandemic.
In the book, Perry wrote that he was "doing ketamine infusions every day" while at the treatment center, which he checked into shortly after becoming engaged to his girlfriend Molly Hurwitz in 2020.
"Ketamine was a very popular street drug in the 1980s. There is a synthetic form of it now, and it's used for two reasons: to ease pain and help with depression," he wrote. "Has my name written all over it—they might as well have called it 'Matty.'"
He described the drug as "a giant exhale" and explained that the staff at the facility would administer it via a drip while he was blindfolded and listening to music.
Perry recalled that he would often "dissociate" during the infusions, but he was also consumed by thoughts of death.
"I often thought that I was dying during that hour," he wrote. "Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die. Yet I would continually sign up for this shit 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. Ketamine was not for me," he added.
Even though he appeared to distance himself from the drug in the book, according to the toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, Perry continued to get ketamine infusions after his stay in Switzerland.
Perry's last such treatment, it said, was a week and a half before his death, meaning the ketamine found in his system could not have been from his last treatment.
The autopsy report said that the exact method of intake of the ketamine is unknown, but noted that there were traces of ketamine found in Perry's stomach. No illicit drugs were found at his house or near the pool.
"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," according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Coroner's office.