Presley Gerber’s doctor prescribed him drug abused by Matthew Perry: report

Presley Gerber’s friends have revealed in a new report that the troubled 27-year-old celebrity model, who “wanted so, so badly to be free of his addictions,” was prescribed ketamine, an anesthetic and psychedelic drug that is increasingly used to treat severe depression.

Experts say ketamine also is used to treat substance use disorders, which tormented Gerber before his death Sunday of a suspected drug overdose. But it’s not FDA-approved for this purpose, and experts warn that it can itself be addictive, with warnings that it needs to be used with “extreme caution” in people who have those disorders.

One of those people for whom ketamine abuse became deadly was “Friends” star Matthew Perry. The beloved actor died in October 2023 from the “acute effects of ketamine” while in the heated end of his swimming pool, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

People in Gerber’s inner circle told TMZ they are angry that he was prescribed ketamine by a doctor, despite knowing about his ongoing struggles with addiction. Gerber also disclosed he had been prescribed ketamine in a since-deleted December 2025 social media post, Page Six reported. His close friends said ketamine was a regular problem for Gerber, and they think the doctor should be prosecuted.

At this point, however, it’s not known what killed Gerber, including whether ketamine or another drug was a factor. The son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and Casamigos tequila founder Rande Gerber suffered a cardiac arrest and then died the morning after he checked into a Santa Monica rehabilitation facility. Santa Monica police are investigating his death as a suspected drug overdose, the Los Angeles Times and other outlets have reported.

Gerber, who was also the older brother of second-generation supermodel Kaia Gerber, had long been open about his struggles with substance abuse and mental health disorders and his efforts to stay sober.

While a police source told the Los Angeles Times there is no indication of foul play, investigators are attempting to track where and who the drugs he supposedly ingested came from.

The TMZ report about Gerber’s alleged ketamine use could renew public debate about this drug, which was implicated in Perry’s death.

A Drug Enforcement Administration investigation and Perry’s own memoir revealed that he began to receive prescribed ketamine infusions to cope with depression and his yearslong addiction struggles. These infusions were given to him by medical professionals in a supervised setting.

But Perry eventually became addicted and felt he needed more of the drug than his doctors were willing to give him, the BBC reported. He began to get the drug from an underground network of unscrupulous physicians and street dealers, who helped him self-administer the drug multiple times a day, leading to his death, according to the BBC and a 2025 U.S. Justice Department news release.

In the years since Perry’s death, five people were investigated, prosecuted and convicted. That includes the Santa Monica physician who repeatedly sold vials of ketamine to Perry, despite knowing his history of drug addiction and that the actor’s personal assistant was administering the drug without medical training or supervision, the Justice Department also said.

It’s not known what was going on with Gerber in the days leading up to his death. However, TMZ reported that he appeared to be under the influence of some substance when he checked into the Resolutions Living facility at 10 p.m. Saturday. This $7.7 million rehabilitation home is located in a seven-bedroom mansion on a quiet residential street in an upscale neighborhood of Santa Monica.

In various confessional social media posts over the years, Gerber said he had used numerous drugs, including ketamine, as he shared in that December 2025 post.

The fact that he had been prescribed ketamine could be an indication of how severe his mental health struggles were, given that the drug is given to people with depression so severe it does not improve with other therapies, including in people who are experiencing suicidal thoughts, according to a 2024 report by Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Health Publishing.

Gerber also said his cocktail of drugs included Valium and Xanax for anxiety and panic attacks, Adderall, opioids, medications for night terrors, as well as Buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid addiction, Page Six reported.

“Every psychiatrist I’ve had — and I’ve had, like, 15 — they’re all like, ‘Here’s 20 medications,’” Gerber said, expressing some frustration with how his medication was being managed. “‘Take this if you feel like this, take this as needed.’ And I’m like, ‘No, don’t give me that much leeway. I need some direction.’”

It’s not known why Gerber was prescribed ketamine. According to the Harvard Health report, ketamine was originally derived from PCP, or “angel dust.” It has been used in hospitals and veterinary clinics as an anesthetic for decades. It gained FDA approval to be used to treat depression in 2019.

Guidelines say it must be used under the supervision of a health care provider in a certified doctor’s office or clinic, the Harvard Health report said. That means medical professionals need to watch a patient receive the dose and monitor their vital signs. The drug’s side effects include dissociation, intoxication, high blood pressure, dizziness, headache, blurred vision, anxiety, nausea and vomiting.

Ketamine is also known to induce feelings of euphoria, which is what makes it potentially addictive to people who have a history of abusing alcohol and other drugs, the Harvard Health report said.

Before prescribing ketamine, a doctor should “pay close attention to whether a person has a prior substance use disorder,” added Pat Fehling, a psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist at the University of Colorado Health Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation in a 2026 article. Fehling said ketamine “lends itself to addiction. It acts quickly, and it’s strong.”