Matthew Perry- “I wonder how much this moron will pay”

@samanthablues

He was also quite a hardcore alcoholic, the poor guy was a mess

Very often true. Someone with an underlying predilection for addiction will latch onto a particular substance of choice but the substance itself is usually interchangeable for another one.

Theres a very long history of people substituting opioid addiction for alcohol and vice versa.

Obviously some drugs are more addictive than others and there is an element of preference but an addict in active addiction will generally take what they can get. The psychological drive to use and the complex brain chemistry of addiction drives the addict to seek out something to alleviate their pain.

@oakleaffy Absolutely.
MP obviously had a serious relationship with drugs.
It’s tragic.

He was also quite a hardcore alcoholic, the poor guy was a mess. The combo of prescription drugs and alcohol is quite a lethal one. MP was like a cat with seven lives, he had almost died a few times but was ultimately revived by doctors. It's a miracle he got to live for so long, poor guy.

I think if you are wealthy in the USA you can get what you want medically drug wise legal or illegal. Look at Michael Jackson

There was a lot of evidence of that sort of thing and attitude in the Depp v Heard trials. I remember that email from Amber Heard asking (in relation to her dogs getting into Australia) 'do we have a vet we could grease?'. This is the world these people live in - find a professional who is unprofessional and open to bribery to get what you want.

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He was responsible for his addiction and for what he put into his body but I read his book when it came out and was shocked when I read that as a baby he had really bad colic and when his mother begged doctors to help him, they prescribed barbiturates - to a baby.

It feels like he was doomed from the beginning tbh and that's on the doctors.

The whole thing is shocking and really sad.

I feel sad for every person who isn't able to beat their addiction.

Whilst the drug dealers and doctors sound vile, I do think that Matthew Perry was partly responsible for his own passing.

MP was an intelligent and wise man with decades of life experience. He knew how dangerous and addictive drugs were and unlike most people had the money and resources to get help. At the end of the day, he chose to take drugs and he has sadly suffered the consequences for doing so.

God bless him.

But also god bless the millions of other drug addicts suffering without being able to get the help MP had.

Revalidation and appraisals are such a massive tick box exercise that totally fail in picking up the Harold shipmans of medicine

Absolutely.
MP obviously had a serious relationship with drugs.
It’s tragic.

It's also used to treat depression with very successful results, but of course it needs to be done in a "medically controlled environment".

Nice to see people challenging the silly sensationalist myth of Ketamine being a horse tranquiliser.

It's not just an injectable drug either, it has legitimate uses in treating chronic pain and is usually taken orally as a liquid if at home.

While living in the US every time I went to the dentist he would give me a tube of painkillers (strong opioids), something that has NEVER happened to me in Europe, yep... doctors in the US give them away like candy so no wonder people get addicted to prescription drugs. In the UK NHS protocol will not prescribe opiates unless you're literally dying of cancer, so getting hook on them is way more difficult in this side of the pond. It's really great we have a not- for-profit public healthcare that stops the system benefitting from people becoming ill.

If you read his book you’ll realise he had previously taken quantities of drugs large enough to prove fatal. In fact he once left a rehab in Switzerland, took a private jet home. When he realised he couldn’t get a prescription anywhere near what he was taking in the US, he flew back to Switzerland later that evening.

Don’t get me wrong, I have an incredible amount of sympathy for what happened to him but he used a vast number of drugs over a significant period and had come close to death numerous times before. He even said in his book something along of the lines of ‘if the drugs killed him it would have been worth it’. I have no doubt he was vulnerable and people used him financially but I think he understood the risks of his drug use quite well.

No it is not Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects. It distorts perceptions of sight and sound and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control. It is an injectable, short-acting anesthetic for use in humans and animals. It is referred to as a “dissociative anesthetic” because it makes patients feel detached from their pain and environment. Ketamine can induce a state of sedation (feeling calm and relaxed), immobility, relief from pain, and amnesia (no memory of events while under.

Is it not the whole drugs industry designed to be that way also

Agree anyone who wants to educate themselves more should watch the brilliant Dopesick, think it's also on iPlayer now.

As someone who lives with someone with chronic pain I thank the heavens every day that the German authorities stopped oxycontin coming to Europe. Just look at the Fentanyl crisis in the US now that we've avoided. Though I wouldn't be surprised if post-Brexit it becomes easier to let dodgy US drugs into the UK.

Sadly, I think there is some truth in this. A good doctor would be telling an addict lots of things they don't want to hear unfortunately. Rich addicts just can pay people to help them self-destruct.

Yes Dopesick is eye opening and very sad but absolutely worth a watch. The way the family who created and sold Oxymoron profited from destroying peoples lives is sickening.

@oakleaffy

People say horse tranquilliser as it sounds dramatic

Agree. There’s so much uneducated speculation about this and a lot of it is just wrong. Any sedative has potential to be a tranquiliser. Ketamine is widely used as an anaesthetic including for children and has been used safely in medicine for well over 50 years. As a PP said it is used therapeutically for depression as appeared to have been the case here.

Its not the ketamine that’s the issue it’s the way it’s used. Clearly MP had serious substance abuse issues going back decades and although he appears to have been using it under medical supervision it may have been that he was so hardwired to abuse and overdo something that he didn’t know where to draw the line.

The addict is the problem, not the drug itself. See also alcohol, opiates etc.

Yeah this. They are scum, taking advantage of a fragile, vulnerable, and gentle soul like Matthew. Same with Michael Jackson. Whatever your opinion of him, he was pumped with dozens of 'prescription' painkilling meds a day, and that resulted in his death.

Some GPs over here are not much better. I know a man right now who is on the highest dose of anti -depressants available, heart-relaxing tablets, nerve blockers, the strongest painkillers you can get, the strongest anti-inflammatories you can get, and strong 'prescribed' anti-histamines to help him sleep. He also has actual sleeping tablets half the year too.

He is ALWAYS tired, and does nothing in his life - except go to work 21 hours a week, (three 7-hour shifts,) and sit on the couch watching TV.. Most days, he sleeps 14-15 hours a day, drops off after dinner on the couch (at around 7pm,) naps til 9pm, gets up and has a cup of hot chocolate and then goes to bed at 9.30pm. His wife said, one of these days he isn't going to wake up. His heart will just stop.

He's on all these meds because he has Health Anxiety (he's a hypochondriac,) and had ailment after ailment after ailment since 2018. The doctors, instead of trying to get him help, to find out why he was going to the GP twice a month, (with a new ailment every 3rd of 4th time,) just dosed him up with every drug going. (He's been on all these meds since 2021,) and now he can't get off them. His wife has forged a new life that excludes him 90% of the time, as he never wants to leave the house, because he is always 'tired.'

The people responsible for Matthew Perry (and Micheal Jackson's death,) are right up there with scummy banks who lend people 10s of 1000s of £££ whilst knowing they can only just make the payments. (And they they will struggle to make the payments should their income drop a fraction.) Scumbags, taking advantage of vulnerable people.

Pushing and pushing more things on people that they don't need, and will struggle with!

It's heartbreaking, feels like Michael Jackson all over again.

I think it’s used for small animals too- and even children.
But but obviously carefully titrated and not a random dose.People say horse tranquilliser as it sounds dramatic-
but It’s probably quite safe when administered by a Veterinary surgeon or hospital doctor.

Even his live in, long time assistant has been arrested. All that money just attracts vipers. Not worth it imo.

Matthew Perry was apparently receiving ketamine infusions to treat depression.

I think ketamine is thought to have therapeutic properties in much smaller doses while properly administered. Ecstasy is being explored in the US at the moment as a possible solution to depression.

Any of these drugs could potentially be used positively if properly prescribed and supported by counselling etc. I don’t think ketamine is inherently a terrible idea.

But clearly buying it at industrial scale from crooked doctors who are stealing it and reselling at a huge markup is not the way to do it.

When it's a celebrity, the authorities seem to have the time and resources to investigate and bring charges. When its Joe Schmo, the regular drug-abuser, it's a case of natural selection and an "oh dear, what a shame" if that.

Justice should be for everyone, not just the privileged.

No-one should be taken advantage of, especially by medical professionals. However, Matthew Perry was all the man he was ever going to be and seemed well aware of his flaws and problems. What percentage of criminal responsibility is laid at his feet for his poor decision making?

What financial incentives are you referring to?