Friends of the so-called “Queen of Ketamine” who is accused of supplying the deadly drug that caused the death of actor Matthew Perry have hit back, saying they “never forced anyone to take drugs”.
Jasveen Sangha was one of five people accused of “profiting” from Perry’s death from a drug overdose on October 28 at his Pacific Palisades, California, home and his worsening drug addiction.
Now her friends have defended her, describing her to the Daily Mail as “spiritual,” “kind” and “inspirational.”
One of Ms Sangha’s close friends, interior designer Clancy Carter, said he had “no idea” she would face serious charges when he met her at a birthday party last week.
“She always wears the best designer clothes,” said Carter, who has been friends with Sangha, 41, since 2008. “She has a family that takes care of her. She’s never been the type of person that needed money.”
“She has a property in the UK. She’s always travelling with her family and doing fun things,” the mother of three continued. “I never thought she’d do something like this, but if there’s evidence that directly links it to her, I’d be absolutely shocked.”
Still, Carter sympathized with Perry, adding: “Either way, an innocent person died and they needed proper attention and care, so I’m certainly concerned.”
But Sangha’s friend Heather Pardue, 42, was less sympathetic.
“She’s my friend,” Pardue told the outlet, “and at the end of the day, nobody can force somebody to take drugs.”
She added that she never saw Sangha involved with drugs.
Prosecutors announced 18 charges Thursday against Sangha, as well as doctors Salvador Plascencia and Mark Chavez, who allegedly tricked Perry into paying thousands of dollars for vials of ketamine that cost just $12.
Sangha allegedly provided 50 vials of drugs to Perry’s acquaintance, Eric Fleming, in two separate transactions in October, who ultimately gave them to Perry.
According to the indictment, Sangha included a free “ketamine lollipop” with Perry’s order because it was so large.
According to TMZ, Fleming, Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who injected Perry with a sedative the day he died, and Chavez have accepted plea deals.
Plascencia, who was also indicted, was licensed to prescribe and administer powerful tranquilizers.
According to the indictment, Plascencia allegedly texted Iwamasa before his death saying, “I wonder how much this idiot’s gonna pay for ketamine.”
Sixteen days before Perry was found in the hot tub, Plascencia allegedly administered a “large amount” of ketamine, causing Perry to “freeze” and raise his blood pressure.
He is due to appear in court on October 15th.
Sangha pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court, was jailed without bail and is scheduled to stand trial on October 8.
Carter said he attended the Golden Globe and Academy Awards ceremonies with Sangha, which likely helped him become acquainted with Hollywood’s elite.
“She knows a lot of people in the industry,” Carter says. “She and I went to the Golden Globes and the Oscars. She hung out with a lot of famous people.”
“I care deeply about her and I would hate to see anything terrible happen to her under any circumstances.”
Perry, 54, who wrote candidly about her drug addiction in her memoir, “Friends, Lover and the Big Terrible Thing,” had been seeking treatment for mental health issues when her life took a dark turn, Drug Enforcement Administration Director Anne Milgram said Thursday.
The autopsy report said he had been receiving ketamine therapy to treat depression, and his last treatment was more than a week before his death.
At the time of his death, the actor had about 3.54 micrograms of ketamine per milliliter in his bloodstream, nearly three times the amount normally prescribed.
