Friends star Matthew Perry's death was an accident caused by the "acute effects of ketamine". The medical officials in Los Angeles confirmed the cause of his death.
Matthew was found unresponsive in the pool of his LA home in October, but a post-mortem examination was inconclusive at the time. Drowning was listed as a contributing factor in his death, reports a media source.
For the uninitiated, the actor was best known for playing Chandler Bing in the iconic sitcom Friends. Matthew, at the height of his fame, was battling with addiction to painkillers and alcohol and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions. After attempts at treatment, he wrote in his memoir that he had been mostly sober since 2001, "save for about 60 or 70 mishaps."
Other contributing causes of the 54-year-old's death were given as coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, the LA County medical examiner said in a statement. "At the high levels of ketamine found in his post-mortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression," senior deputy medical examiner Raffi Djabourian wrote, further noting, "Drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness; coronary artery disease contributes due to exacerbation of ketamine induced myocardial effects on the heart."
He was found unresponsive at his home on October 28 and paramedics pronounced his death when they were called to the scene. A day later, the medical examiner's office updated its file to say his case had been deferred, which usually means that the post-mortem is complete but more detail is needed. He was laid to rest at an LA cemetery following a private funeral, US media reported in November.