Matthew Perry addiction: Accused doctor returning to practice

A doctor who federal prosecutors say profited off actor Matthew Perry by taking advantage of his addiction issues and supplying him with ketamine, the drug that ultimately killed him, will resume seeing patients at his practice this week, his lawyer told CNN on Tuesday.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia, of Santa Monica, Calif., was charged in connection with the death of the beloved actor. Prosecutors say an underground network of drug sellers and suppliers were responsible for distributing the ketamine that killed Perry.

Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing on “Friends,” died in October 2023 at age 54 from “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy report.

Stefan Sacks, an attorney for Plasencia, said his client will return to his practice at Malibu Canyon Urgent Care “anytime this week.”

Plasencia has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.

Three of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death have reached plea agreements. When asked Tuesday if Plasencia had considered a plea agreement, his attorney said it was “too early” to say because the defense team had yet to receive any of the prosecution’s evidence in the case.

Plasencia was released last week after posting a $100,000 bond and surrendering his passport and DEA licence, which had allowed him to prescribe controlled substances. His trial is set for October 8.

The Medical Board of California is aware of the federal charges against Plasencia and another doctor who has been charged in connection with Perry’s death, board spokesperson Alexandria Schembra told CNN on Sunday. Both doctors are under investigation by the board, but no restrictions have been imposed on them, Schembra said.

Plasencia’s medical license is active through October 2024, according to the medical board.

Plasencia’s attorney said the doctor may see patients both in person and via tele-health, “depending on what the patient actually needs.”

Under the judge’s order, Plasencia’s patients must sign a consent form acknowledging the pending federal case against him and that Plasencia cannot prescribe any controlled substances.

How is Plasencia still able to practice?

The implications of a pending criminal case against a physician on their medical license involves two separate processes – criminal proceedings and professional licensure – moving in parallel, legal experts told CNN.

Licensed physicians who are under investigation by a state medical board are entitled to due process while the medical inquiry is ongoing, which can lead to their license being suspended, revoked or not renewed, according to the Federation of State Medical Boards.

In the investigation, medical boards can take into consideration evidence from criminal proceedings as a factor in enforcing certain regulations on licenses – the standard in California and nationally.

There are restrictions in most states, including California, on considering someone’s criminal background or ongoing cases against them as a factor in their employment or license if the issue has no relation to their professional practice, according to Lindsay Wiley, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

However, when the allegations are “right at the core of being reasonably related to the job qualification,” like for Plasencia, taking the criminal element into account is “fair game,” she continued.

“The requirements that the implications for your license have to be reasonably related to the charges against you, that’s meant to kind of protect people from overreaching consequences of criminal actions,” Wiley said.

Investigations by state medical boards in the legal licensing process are notoriously slow, Wiley said, but criminal courts can impose sanctions or conditions on a defendant’s release to protect public safety as they await trial.

While Plasencia is allowed to return to work, the judge’s suspension of his DEA license and requiring the consent form were two such court-imposed conditions to protect public safety while the medical board conducts its separate investigation.

What is Plasencia accused of?

About one month before Perry’s death, Plasencia learned the actor was interested in purchasing ketamine and contacted another physician – Dr. Mark Chavez, according to court documents.

Chavez provided Plasencia with the ketamine given to Perry through a fraudulent prescription, according to a document outlining the allegations against him.

“Defendant Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit off of Mr. Perry,” US Attorney Martin Estrada has said, adding Plasencia wrote in text messages that he wanted to be the actor’s sole supplier.

According to Estrada, in a September 2023 message, Plasencia wrote: “I wonder how much this moron will pay?”

Over the next several weeks, prosecutors said, Plasencia purchased ketamine from Chavez, sold vials of the drug to Perry’s assistant and taught the assistant how to administer the drug.

Plasencia also went to Perry’s house to drop off ketamine and even injected the drug for Perry in the back of a vehicle in a parking lot, prosecutors said.

On October 12, more than two weeks before Perry’s death, Plasencia “administered a large dose” to Perry that caused Perry’s systolic blood pressure to spike and he froze up, unable to speak or move, prosecutors said.

If convicted, Plasencia would face up to a decade in prison for each ketamine-related count and up to 20 years for each count of records falsification, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

CNN’s Jack Hannah and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.