One of the doctors charged in Matthew Perry’s death has been told he can reopen his medical practice — but he is no longer allowed to prescribe patients controlled substances like ketamine, the drug prosecutors say he supplied the addicted “Friends” actor before his fatal overdose.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia will reopen his practice, Malibu Canyon Urgent Care, as soon as Tuesday, following his arrest last week, his attorney, Stefan Sacks, told TMZ.
Plasencia, 42, was one of five people charged with allegedly bilking thousands of dollars from Perry, 54, for vials of ketamine that he also helped inject in the weeks leading up to the beloved actor’s fatal overdose last October.
Plasencia and another doctor, Mark Chavez, allegedly supplied the actor with about 20 vials of ketamine in exchange for $55,000 in cash — with Plasencia allegedly telling another patient Perry “was spiraling out of control with his addiction,” prosecutors said.
Moving forward with his practice, Plasencia will now be required to tell all his patients about his ongoing criminal case, Sacks told the outlet.
Plasencia was also stripped of his Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) registration, a certification that allows medical practitioners to prescribe controlled substances, like ketamine, to their patients.
According to his lawyer, Plasencia is still allowed to distribute non-controlled drugs, like antibiotics, though his patients will have to sign a waiver giving written approval that they still want to be treated by Plasencia amid the ongoing criminal case.
While Plasencia was then licensed to prescribe and administer the powerful tranquilizer to Perry, prosecutors claim the doctor took the opportunity to cash in on the Hollywood star’s addiction.
In addition to up-charging the actor — allegedly making him pay $2,000 for a $12 vial of the drug — Plasencia texted Chavez “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” according to court documents.
He also expressed a desire to become Perry’s “go-to” for drugs and allegedly instructed Perry’s longtime assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who is also charged in the case, on how to inject the drugs into his boss.
Plasencia, however, appeared to pull back just two weeks out from Perry’s death after the actor suffered an episode in which he seemed to “freeze up” when he was injected with a “large dose” of the drug, according to the filings.
“Let’s not do that again,” he allegedly told Iwamasa after the actor’s blood pressure skyrocketed.
His attorney told TMZ he stopped treating Perry several weeks before his death, and views the case against him as federal overreach.
In addition to the two doctors and Perry’s live-in assistant, alleged street dealer Erik Fleming and the so-called “Ketamine Queen” of Los Angeles Jasveen Sangha were also charged in Perry’s death.
Plasencia and Sangha are both charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Plasencia is also charged with seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to a federal investigation.
Meanwhile, Fleming, Iwamasa and Chavez all copped deals in exchange for pleading guilty to various charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine and conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.
Plasencia, who pled not guilty, was released on bond last Friday.
