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On Friday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner announced that former “Friends” actor Matthew Perry died from the “acute effects” of the drug ketamine when he was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home.
While many people have likely heard of ketamine, not as many are familiar with its uses – both legal and illegal.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It is used as an anesthetic for humans and animals and also used as a nasal spray for the treatment of depression.
The DEA says that ketamine can distort a person’s eyesight and hearing. It also can make a person feel disconnected and not in control and is thus called a “dissociative anesthetic hallucinogen.”
Ketamine can make a person “feel detached from their pain and environment,” according to the DEA. Ketamine induces a sense of sedation, and relief from pain, immobility and amnesia.
The DEA says that ketamine is abused due to its “dissociative sensations and hallucinogenic effects.”
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FILE – David Schwimmer, from left, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc pose after “Friends” won outstanding comedy series at the 54th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 22, 2002, in Los Angeles. Cast members are sharing more remembrances of Perry in their first personal social media posts since the actor’s death on Oct. 28. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) -
Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc attend the Stars Party at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on August 10, 2015. (Photo by Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images) -
Pictured: (clockwise from bottom left) Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green — (Photo by Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) -
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN — Pictured: Matthew Perry — (Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images) -
In this April 28, 2015, file photo, Matthew Perry arrives at the LA Premiere of “Ride” in Los Angeles. The former “Friends” star appears with Katie Holmes, who reprises her role as Jackie Kennedy in “The Kennedys After Camelot,” which premieres on the Reelz channel on April 2. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File)
Side effects of ketamine use include agitation, depression, cognitive difficulties, unconsciousness, and amnesia, according to the DEA. Involuntarily rapid eye movement, dilated pupils, salivation, tear secretions, stiffening of the muscles and possible nausea.
Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) has been reported several weeks after ketamine use and may include experiencing prolonged visual disturbances.
The DEA says that the overdosing effects of ketamine are dangerously slowed breathing and unconsciousness.
Perry, 54, died on Oct. 28 and, while the former “Friends” star was receiving ketamine as a therapy, the Los Angeles County medical examiner said that was not the cause of his overdose.
“There were trace amounts of ketamine detected in the stomach contents,” the autopsy report stated. “He was reported to be receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety.”
Per the report, Perry’s last known treatment was one-and-a-half weeks before his death and the ketamine that was in his system when he died “could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours, or less,” the medical examiner said.
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