Salvador Plasencia, a former California physician involved in the ketamine case of actor Matthew Perry, is appealing his 30-month federal prison sentence, arguing that he was improperly treated as a medical professional who abused a position of trust.
Plasencia, identified in court records as “Dr P,” pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of distributing ketamine and was sentenced in December to two and a half years in federal prison. His appeal does not deny criminal conduct but challenges the severity of the sentence. His lawyers argue the judge wrongly enhanced the punishment on the basis that he misused his role as a physician.
They claim Matthew Perry was not seeking legitimate medical treatment but rather looking for a source of ketamine, and that Plasencia’s conduct was closer to that of a drug supplier than a treating doctor.
The filing also disputes what it describes as “double-counting” related to allegations that he altered records during the investigation. The appeal further compares his sentence with those of other defendants in the broader case, including Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming.
Prosecutors, however, presented a sharply different account during sentencing.
The U S Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said Plasencia repeatedly supplied ketamine to Perry despite knowing about the actor’s history of addiction and while being aware that Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, lacked medical training to administer the drug.
According to prosecutors, Plasencia operated Malibu Canyon Urgent Care LLC in Calabasas and was fully aware of ketamine’s risks, including sedation, psychiatric effects, and potential for abuse.
Authorities said Plasencia was introduced to Perry on September 30, 2023, after another patient described Perry as a high-profile client willing to pay in cash for ketamine. Prosecutors allege he then obtained ketamine from co-defendant Chavez, administered the drug at Perry’s home, and supplied additional vials and syringes to Perry and his assistant.
