Highlights
- Presley Gerber and Matthew Perry both had documented histories of substance-use problems
- Both had access to prescribed ketamine before their deaths
- Perry’s death was officially linked to ketamine, while Gerber’s cause of death remains pending
Presley Gerber’s death has brought back questions raised by Matthew Perry’s case.
Both men had publicly documented struggles with substance use. Both also had access to ketamine through medical channels.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths are not the same. Perry’s death was officially attributed to the acute effects of ketamine, while Gerber’s cause and manner of death have been deferred pending further testing.
The connection is therefore not that ketamine has been confirmed as the cause of both deaths. It is the question of how people with substance-use histories came to have access to the drug in the first place.
What was Presley Gerber’s history with ketamine?
Gerber had been open about his struggles with addiction and mental health and had sought different forms of treatment.
According to TMZ, people close to Gerber said ketamine had become a particular problem for him. The publication also reported that a doctor continued prescribing him the drug despite knowing about his addiction issues.
That report has raised questions about the circumstances around his treatment.
However, there is currently no evidence establishing that Gerber took ketamine before his death or that the drug contributed to it.
Gerber died at a rehabilitation facility on September 20. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner completed an examination but deferred the cause and manner of death, saying further testing or studies were required.
Police are investigating the death as a suspected overdose, but that remains an investigation rather than a confirmed medical cause.
Why was Matthew Perry prescribed ketamine?
Perry’s situation shows why the question is more complicated than simply asking why ketamine was prescribed to someone with an addiction history.
Ketamine has legitimate medical uses. Perry had received the drug as part of treatment, but his access later expanded beyond legitimate medical supervision.
According to the US Department of Justice, doctor Salvador Plasencia knew about Perry’s long history of drug addiction but supplied him with ketamine outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. Plasencia was later sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
Perry’s former live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, also admitted repeatedly injecting him with ketamine despite having no medical training. He was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison in May 2026.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined that the acute effects of ketamine caused Perry’s death in October 2023.
What is the common factor between Presley Gerber and Matthew Perry?
The common factor is not simply ketamine.
Both men had substance-use histories and both had access to prescribed ketamine. That makes the question of prescribing safeguards particularly relevant, especially when a patient has a known history of problems with substances.
But their cases must remain separate.
In Perry’s case, authorities established that ketamine caused his death and prosecuted people who supplied and administered the drug improperly. In Gerber’s case, there is currently only a report that a doctor prescribed ketamine despite his known problems with the substance. His toxicology and official cause of death have not yet been established.
That leaves an important question around Gerber’s case: what safeguards should be in place when a controlled drug with misuse risks is prescribed to someone with a history of substance problems?
The answer will depend on the medical circumstances of the individual patient, the reason for prescribing the drug, the dose and monitoring, and what Gerber’s toxicology ultimately shows.
For now, the reported prescription is part of the questions surrounding his death, not an established explanation for it.
