Archive · 23 Sep 2026
Presley Gerber and Matthew Perry’s Ketamine Cases Compared
Presley Gerber and Matthew Perry both had histories of problems with substances.
Both also received or had access to ketamine through medical treatment.
Perry’s death was officially linked to the acute effects of ketamine.
People who supplied or gave Perry the drug improperly were prosecuted.
Gerber died at a rehabilitation facility, but officials have not yet determined how he died.
Police are investigating his death as a suspected overdose, but that is not a confirmed medical finding.
A report says a doctor continued prescribing Gerber ketamine despite his addiction problems.
More testing is needed before anyone can know whether ketamine played a role in Gerber’s death.
Presley Gerber and Matthew Perry both had documented substance-use histories.
Both men had access to ketamine through medical channels.
Matthew Perry’s death was officially attributed to the acute effects of ketamine.
Gerber’s cause and manner of death remain deferred pending further testing.
Reports about Gerber’s ketamine prescription have raised questions, but do not establish that ketamine caused his death.
- Who
- Presley Gerber and Matthew Perry, both of whom had documented substance-use histories; Perry’s case also involved Salvador Plasencia and Kenneth Iwamasa.
- What
- The cases are being compared because both men had access to prescribed ketamine, although ketamine was confirmed as a cause of death only in Perry’s case.
- When
- Gerber died on September 20, while Perry died in October 2023; Iwamasa was sentenced in May 2026.
- Where
- Gerber died at a rehabilitation facility. The deaths were examined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
- Why
- The comparison has renewed questions about prescribing safeguards for people with known substance-use problems.
Prescribing Safeguards
Medical Treatment Context
Ketamine access for patients with substance-use histories
Prescribing Safeguards
Known addiction problems should prompt stronger safeguards, monitoring, and scrutiny before a controlled drug with misuse risks is prescribed.
Medical Treatment Context
Ketamine has legitimate medical uses, and prescribing decisions depend on the patient’s medical circumstances, treatment purpose, dose, and monitoring.
What Gerber’s prescription indicates
Prescribing Safeguards
The report that a doctor continued prescribing ketamine despite Gerber’s addiction issues raises questions about whether appropriate safeguards were followed.
Medical Treatment Context
The reported prescription is not proof that Gerber took ketamine before his death or that it caused or contributed to his death; toxicology and the official cause remain pending.
- Gerber’s death
- Gerber died at a rehabilitation facility on September 20.
- Gerber’s official cause
- The cause and manner of death were deferred pending further testing or studies.
- Gerber investigation
- Police are investigating the death as a suspected overdose.
- Perry’s cause of death
- The acute effects of ketamine were determined to have caused Perry’s death in October 2023.
- Salvador Plasencia
- He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after supplying Perry with ketamine outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
- Kenneth Iwamasa
- Perry’s former live-in assistant admitted repeatedly injecting him with ketamine despite having no medical training and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison in May 2026.
- Unconfirmed connection
- There is currently no evidence establishing that Gerber took ketamine before his death or that it contributed to his death.