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'Ketamine Queen' Gets 15 Years in Matthew Perry Death

Was Jasveen Sangha a dangerous drug kingpin who deserved 15 years or a scapegoat for Matthew Perry's death?

Published APR 9

'Ketamine Queen' Gets 15 Years in Matthew Perry Death

Story

Above: Matthew Perry on Nov.17, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. Image credit: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ

The Facts

Jasveen Sangha, 42, known as the "Ketamine Queen," was on Wednesday sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Garnett for her role in the 2023 overdose death of actor Matthew Perry.
NBC
Breitbart
Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the sitcom "Friends," was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office determined his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine.
Daily Mail
BBC News
Last year, Sangha pleaded guilty to five federal charges, including maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distributing ketamine and one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. She had operated a drug distribution business from her North Hollywood home since at least 2019.
FOX News
guardian
Sangha also admitted to selling ketamine to Cody McLaury in August 2019, who died hours later from an overdose. Prosecutors said she continued selling drugs after learning of both McLaury's and Perry's deaths.
NBC
guardian
Four co-defendants were also charged in connection with Perry's death. Dr. Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Dr. Mark Chavez received eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release.
New York Post
BBC News
Sangha's defense attorneys Mark Geragos and Alexandra Kazarian had requested a sentence of time served, citing her lack of prior criminal history and participation in rehabilitation programs while incarcerated. Prosecutors had argued she showed "cold callousness and disregard for life."
NBC
guardian

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

Jasveen Sangha wasn't just selling drugs — the heartless woman was running a supply chain that killed at least two people and actively covered her tracks afterward. Packaging ketamine in unmarked vials with no dosage info and then telling a middleman to delete messages isn't a mistake; it's a criminal operation. Fifteen years is exactly the kind of sentence that matches the scale of the harm done.

Perez Hilton

Tobi Faj on X

Narrative B

Pinning Matthew Perry's death entirely on Sangha ignores that ketamine alone almost never kills — drowning in a hot tub did. Perry was a long-term addict who directed his own drug use, and prosecutors found no gang ties or violence in Sangha's background. A 15-year sentence that mirrors punishments for rapists and murderers is a disproportionate result of "death by dealer" laws run amok.

Max Daly on Substack

Narrative C

Targeting dealers or those around addicts misunderstands addiction itself. Addiction is a complex human and medical issue, a persistent, deeply rooted condition, not easily disrupted by policing supply chains. Crackdowns often worsen instability without reducing demand. Instead, meaningful change comes from long-term care, harm reduction and social support, which address the underlying realities driving addictive behavior.