NEW: California doctor who provided Matthew Perry with ketamine sentenced to 30 months in prison

The California physician who supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison, marking the first prison term handed down in the investigation into the Friends star’s fatal overdose. The case is part of a broader federal probe into how Perry obtained the powerful anesthetic through an underground network in Hollywood.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia was one of five people charged after a multiyear investigation that tracked Perry’s access to ketamine in the months leading up to his death. Perry, 54, was found dead at his Los Angeles home in 2023 following a long and public struggle with addiction and depression.

Prosecutors said Plasencia repeatedly provided ketamine outside accepted medical standards. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of distributing the drug. While the charges carried a potential 40-year maximum sentence, prosecutors requested three years. The judge ultimately imposed a 30-month term.

Perry’s family submitted victim impact statements, calling on the court to impose a harsh sentence and calling Plasencia “most culpable” among the defendants. Perry's father, John, and stepmother, Debbie, wrote, according to the BBC, “Matthew’s recovery counted on you saying NO… The loss has devastated our family.” Perry’s mother and stepfather accused the doctor of repeatedly violating his oath, describing him as a “jackal” who enabled the actor’s addiction rather than helping him.

Plasencia’s legal team said he accepted the ruling “with humility and deep remorse,” adding, “He was a good doctor loved by those he treated. He is not a villain… He is someone who made serious mistakes in his treatment decisions involving the off-label use of ketamine.”