OAN Staff Lillian Mann and Brooke Mallory
1:33 PM – Thursday, April 9, 2026

Jasveen Sangha, the notorious 42-year-old drug dealer dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison.

The sentence followed her guilty plea for distributing the ketamine that led to the October 2023 overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry. Prosecutors successfully argued that Sangha operated a high-volume “drug-selling emporium” that knowingly supplied the fatal dose.

Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty last year to five federal charges related to Perry’s death, which included three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. 

Sangha reportedly ran an elaborate drug operation out of her North Hollywood home, operating since 2019. Prosecutors also explained that Sangha stored a slew of drugs, including methamphetamine and ketamine, a hallucinogenic anesthetic that has gained popularity as an off-label treatment for depression, and would package them for distribution — often selling them to “high-profile” customers.

 

Prosecutors wrote in court filings, ahead of the sentencing, that Sangha should serve 15 years in prison for her “cold callousness and disregard for life” noting how the “ketamine queen” showed little remorse, stating in recorded jail communications that she mentioned “obtaining trademarks and securing book rights on the events of the case.”

Before sentencing, Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry, also asked the judge to “give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours.”

Nonetheless, the now-convicted drug dealer made her apology in court.

 

“I am deeply ashamed of how my actions affected all the families here today,” Sangha said, adding that she has “done everything I can to be a better person.” 

Federal prosecutors, however, maintained further that Sangha failed to demonstrate any genuine remorse, arguing that she consistently attempted to minimize her culpability and downplay the lethal consequences of her North Hollywood drug operation.

“She didn’t care and kept selling,” prosecutors wrote. “Defendant’s actions show a cold callousness and disregard for life. She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones.”

 

Sangha “had the opportunity to stop after realizing the impact of her dealing — but simply chose not to,” which warrants a “significant” sentence, prosecutors added.

Conversely, the defense argued that Sangha — who has remained in custody since her August 2024 arrest — should be sentenced to time served, citing her “demonstrated rehabilitation” and contending that her period of incarceration was already sufficient punishment.

Meanwhile, prosecutors detailed how Sangha collaborated with Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in assistant, to funnel the ketamine directly to the actor.

 

“Leading up to Perry’s death, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that Sangha supplied to Fleming,” the DOJ said in a press release last year. “Specifically, on October 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death.”

Prosecutors also established that Sangha’s history of distribution preceded the Perry case, noting she had previously sold four vials of ketamine to Los Angeles resident Cody McLaury, which resulted in his fatal overdose in 2019.

“[The] defendant harmed two overdose victims, but her sentencing briefing does not even mention Cody McLaury and only references Matthew Perry in passing, in the context of defendant attempting to downplay her role in his death and to heap the blame on others,” prosecutors wrote last week.

Perry’s Passing

Perry’s death was primarily caused by the acute effects of ketamine, which resulted in a “perfect storm” of physiological failure and environmental hazard.

According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s report, the high levels of ketamine in his system — measured at 3,271 ng/mL, a concentration typically used for general anesthesia — likely caused him to lapse into a state of unconsciousness or a “dissociative trance.”

Since he was in a hot tub at the time, this loss of consciousness led to his accidental drowning, which was listed as a major contributory factor. The medical examiner noted that the ketamine likely caused both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression, making it impossible for him to remain above water.

Several other substances and health factors were involved in the tragedy as well. The autopsy revealed the presence of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid addiction, which can enhance the sedative and respiratory-depressant effects of ketamine when combined.

Additionally, coronary artery disease was cited as a contributing factor, as the strain ketamine places on the heart can be fatal for individuals with existing cardiac issues.

While Perry had been receiving supervised ketamine infusion therapy for depression, the levels found in his system were too high to have come from his last legal session ten days prior, leading investigators to conclude the fatal dose was obtained and administered illicitly.

Ketamine Deaths In General

While ketamine can cause a fatal overdose on its own, such instances are statistically rare in comparison to deaths involving multiple substances. When taken in isolation at extremely high doses, ketamine can induce profound respiratory depression or cardiovascular failure.

However, since the drug is an “associative anesthetic” that generally maintains a patient’s airway and breathing better than opioids or other sedatives, the lethal dose for a human is significantly higher than the typical recreational or therapeutic dose.

In the vast majority of ketamine-related fatalities, secondary factors play the deciding role. The most common cause of death is the combination of ketamine with other central nervous system depressants, such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, or opioids, which exponentially increases the risk of respiratory arrest.

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