An investigation into the death of American actor Matthew Perry has led to criminal charges against five people. Perry, a star of the popular television series Friends, died suddenly in October. He was 54. Doctors who examined his body after death said Perry died from an overdose of the powerful drug ketamine.
So what is ketamine?
Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic. The drug is often used to put people into a deep sleep for medical operations, also called surgery. The treatment is called general anesthesia. A doctor can inject the drug into a muscle or through a liquid flow directly into a patient’s veins.
The drug’s chemistry is similar to the recreational drug called PCP. Some people use ketamine recreationally for its euphoric effects. It can cause hallucinations and can affect breathing and the heart.
Ketamine becomes popular
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ketamine for use only for general anesthesia. However, American doctors are free to prescribe drugs for treatments other than those approved by the FDA. This is known as off-label use.
Ketamine use has seen a huge, fast rise in recent years as a treatment for pain and mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety.
Perry was using it to treat depression. His usual doctors were treating him with what is called ketamine infusion therapy. However, investigators say the actor turned to other sources when his doctors refused to give him as much as he wanted.
Last week, government lawyers said Perry got ketamine illegally through a group that included two doctors, Perry’s assistant and a woman they identified as the “Ketamine Queen.” Perry’s assistant injected the actor with ketamine — including several times on the day Perry died.
How else is ketamine being used?
Emergency medical workers also sometimes use ketamine to sedate people who appear to be out of control, aggressive or a threat to themselves or others. Some states and agencies around the country have begun to reconsider this use of ketamine because of the drug’s health risks.
In 2019, an American court found two emergency medical workers guilty in the overdose killing of a teenager in Colorado. The medical team injected the man with a deadly amount of ketamine during a police operation.
An Associated Press investigation found that, generally, use of ketamine and similar drugs as a policing or security tool has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years.
I’m Caty Weaver.
The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted the report for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
overdose –n. a lethal or toxic amount (as of a drug)
euphoric –adj. marked by a feeling of great happiness and excitement: characterized by, based on, or producing euphoria
hallucination –n. the awareness of something (as a visual image, a sound, or a smell) that seems to be experienced through one of the senses but is not real, cannot be sensed by someone else, and is usually the result of mental illness or the effect of a drug
prescribe –v. to write or give medical orders, such as for drugs or other treatments
sedate –v to dose with sedatives, drugs that can make people sleep
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