In a federal courtroom in Los Angeles this week, Jasveen Sangha, the woman widely dubbed the “Ketamine Queen,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison for her role in selling the ketamine that ultimately led to the death of actor Matthew Perry.
Perry, the beloved star of Friends, died in October 2023 at the age of 54 from an accidental overdose of ketamine, a powerful anesthetic sometimes misused recreationally.
Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects and is supposed to be administered only by a physician.
Sangha, 42, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and the United Kingdom, pleaded guilty in September 2025 to multiple federal charges.
In addition to maintaining a drug-involved premises and distribution of ketamine, her plea agreement included a count of distributing the drug resulting in death, a rare acknowledgment in cases tied to overdose fatalities.
Prosecutors described her as running a high-volume drug trafficking operation from her North Hollywood home that catered to affluent clients, including celebrities.
According to court filings, Sangha supplied large quantities of ketamine over time, some of which were purchased by intermediaries and ultimately purchased for Perry through his personal assistant.
In the weeks before his death, Sangha provided dozens of vials of ketamine, including the ones that were administered to him in the hours before he was found unresponsive in his hot tub.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner determined that the acute effects of ketamine were the primary cause of his death.
Perry, best known for playing wise-cracking Chandler Bing in the long-running 1990s US TV sitcom Friends, struggled for decades with substance addiction and had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.
Sangha was the third defendant in the broader case to be sentenced and the only one whose plea explicitly acknowledged her role in Perry’s death.
Other individuals charged in connection with the case, including medical professionals who illegally supplied ketamine and Perry’s assistant, have received significantly lighter sentences or are awaiting sentencing.
Dr Salvador Plasencia, who supplied the actor with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison. Also in December, Dr Mark Chavez, a California doctor who sold the ketamine to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release.
The San Diego-based physician admitted to obtaining ketamine from his clinic and a wholesale distributor through a fraudulent prescription and sold it to Plasencia, who then supplied it to Perry.
Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who helped purchase and inject the actor with ketamine, is scheduled to be sentenced later this month but his legal team has requested a postponement.
Perry, best known for playing wise-cracking Chandler Bing in the long-running 1990s US TV sitcom ‘Friends’, struggled for decades with substance addiction and had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.
At sentencing, the judge noted that Sangha’s punishment would likely surpass those of her co-defendants combined because her plea included the fatal outcome.
Prosecutors had sought a stiff sentence, arguing that her distribution continued even after earlier deaths linked to her drugs and that she marketed her operation to wealthy users. Defense attorneys urged that the time she already spent in custody should be considered sufficient.
The case has drawn widespread attention not only because of Perry’s fame but for the stark spotlight it casts on America’s drug epidemic and the legal responsibilities of those who supply illegal substances.
Perry’s family has publicly expressed the profound and lasting grief his passing has inflicted, calling for accountability and maximum penalties for those involved.
Sangha will begin serving her 180-month sentence immediately and is also expected to face supervised release after her prison term.
