Matthew Perry: Why it’s important to watch celebrity drug deaths

CNN
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The recent announcement of charges against five people in connection with the ketamine-related death of actor Matthew Perry in 2023 marks the latest example of authorities holding drug dealers and celebrity death agents accountable.

Investigators said those charged include two doctors, Perry’s personal assistant and Jasveen Sangha, whom authorities call the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood.

Sangha pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine. CNN has reached out to her attorney for comment.

The charges in the case came after investigators uncovered an underground network of drug dealers and suppliers they say were responsible for distributing the potentially deadly ketamine that killed Perry, who died on Oct. 28, 2023, CNN previously reported.

The case is somewhat similar to charges brought in the September 2018 drug-related death of rapper Mac Miller, 26, after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol.

Two men have been sentenced to prison in connection with Miller’s death. Ryan Reavis, one of the people who said he supplied Miller with the drugs two days before his overdose, was sentenced in April 2022 to more than 10 years after pleading guilty to a federal count of distributing fentanyl, a CNN affiliate KCAL reported.

Stephen Walter, who also pleaded guilty to a fentanyl distribution charge, was sentenced in May 2022 to just under 18 years in prison by a federal judge in California, NPR reported.

And before Miller came the drug-related death of platinum-selling artist Prince, who died aged 57 in April 2016 after being found unresponsive in an elevator at his home and recording studio of Chanhassen, Minnesota.

No criminal charges have been filed in the death of Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, because authorities said they found no evidence of who supplied him with the counterfeit fentanyl-laced Vicodin pills that killed him or how he obtained them .

Minnesota doctor Michael Schulenberg has paid $30,000 to settle civil charges that he wrote a single prescription for Percocet to Prince’s friend, knowing Prince, who had a history of opiate addiction, would take it, CNN previously reported. Schulenberg pleaded not guilty as part of the plea deal and said he did not prescribe opiates to any patients with the intention that they would be given to Prince, his lawyer told CNN at the time.

After Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, his doctor, Conrad Murray, served two years of a four-year sentence handed down in 2011 for involuntary manslaughter after a jury found that his negligence led to the singer’s overdose of propofol, a surgical anesthetic.

Legal experts said the focus on higher-profile cases and related prosecutions can play a crucial role in deterring illegal drug activity.

“The focus on high-profile cases stems in large part from the visibility they bring to the problem, helping to illuminate the broader implications of the drug crisis,” Andrew Pickett, a senior attorney based in Melbourne, Florida, told CNN.

“They serve as a warning to both practitioners who operate on the fringes of legality and those who facilitate substance abuse,” Pickett said.

The case involving those accused in the death of Perry, who starred for a decade on “Friends” from 1994 to 2004, has undoubtedly received widespread attention because of the actor’s fame. But legal experts said such charges are not uncommon in cases involving non-celebrities who have died in similar circumstances.

“We don’t hear about them as often and as loudly because they usually involve people that nobody knows,” Tre Lovell, an entertainment attorney in Los Angeles, told CNN.

“In this case, they had an opportunity to not only set an example, but to do so in a way that attracted enormous attention given Perry’s celebrity status,” Lovell said.

One of those lesser-known cases happened in January in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody, where a 44-year-old drug dealer was charged with felony murder in connection with the overdose death of a 34-year-old man last year. according to the data. Dunwoody Police Department.

Low-profile drug cases are often prosecuted with similar severity to those involving famous people who have died, according to Pickett.

High-profile cases may get more media attention, but they don’t necessarily reflect prosecutors’ priorities, said Bill Powers, an attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Prosecutors pursue cases involving drug-related deaths regardless of the victim’s fame,” Powers told CNN in a statement. “The law is designed to apply equally to all citizens.”

But Ben Michael, an attorney at Michael and Associates in Los Angeles, said the publicity that comes with higher-profile drug-related deaths could be a driving force behind authorities pursuing these cases.

“If a police department thinks they can ride the wave of public attention from a celebrity death and use it to shine a positive light on their department, they probably will,” Michael told CNN. “This results in more funding, which is the main reason departments pursue celebrity cases more fervently than non-celebrity cases,” he said.

Michael added: “That being said, most police departments across the country are doing everything they can to put as many drug dealers behind bars as possible.”

There has been a recent trend of increased focus on holding dealers and suppliers accountable for overdose deaths, with some jurisdictions pursuing felony charges in certain overdose cases, Powers noted.

The case surrounding Perry’s death has highlighted the dangers of recreational use of ketamine, a controlled substance, said Lauren Johnson-Norris, a criminal defense attorney based in Irvine, California.

“Perry was vulnerable as an addict, and these doctors illegally sold him drugs instead of helping him. This makes them no better than a street-level dealer, and possibly worse for violating their oath to do no harm,” Johnson-Norris told CNN of the charges.

“We hold doctors to the highest standards, and this case sends a message that abuse of their medical privileges will not be tolerated,” she said, adding that drug dealers may not be deterred in the same way.

“Many have a lot less to lose, they don’t face the same stigma that a doctor would if they get caught,” Johnson-Norris said.

“Although the dealer in this case could receive a life sentence, no one knows if these charges will deter other dealers from selling ketamine,” she continued. “Prosecutors are tough on these cases because they hope they will be, but the deterrence statistics don’t support that.”

Pickett said the hope is, just as the Corrupt and Racketeer Influenced Organizations Act statutes have impacted organized crime, cases like this will lead to greater accountability for those involved in the drug trade.

“Diligently pursuing these cases underscores the importance of accountability for all parties, regardless of victim status,” Pickett said.

CNN’s Scott Glover, John Miller, Lisa Respers France, Holly Yan, Jay Croft, Eric Levenson and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.