Keith Morrison Gets Candid About Stepson Matthew Perry’s Health Issues and Drug War

date line star Keith Morrison He spoke about his stepson’s death Matthew Perryincluding details on how to Friends actor in the weeks before his death and the impact his death had on his family.

In an interview with CBC Q with Tom PowerMorrison said: “Ask any parent who has lost a child. There is something for me; I’m her stepfather and we were close, but I’m the stepfather. I’m not his mother. Ask any mother what it’s like to lose a child. “It doesn’t matter if he’s five or 55.”

Perry died on October 28, 2023. He was 54 years old, and in December 2023, the autopsy report revealed his death. ruled accidental overdose It is caused by the acute effects of ketamine. Perry wrote his memoirs a year before his death Friends, Lovers and the Big Scary Thingdetails his lifelong struggle with addiction.

“A few months before (the book) he could barely walk from his house to his car,” Morrison recalled. “The idea that he could sit down and write a book was crazy, but he did it anyway. I guess that helped keep him clean. I really believed it would work this time. But again, this is a drug addict who understands everything about drugs.”

After describing Perry as a “world-class expert on drugs”, Morrison described how the actor decided to undergo ketamine infusion therapy to treat his depression and anxiety after getting sober.

“He told us over and over how effective it was in eliminating all forms of depression,” Morrison said. “Her mother was very suspicious of this. She didn’t think ketamine was a good idea, but she kept saying: ‘It’s not addictive. That’s the great thing about this drug. It’s revolutionary. It will eliminate depression.’ But his addictive personality was so strong that, you know, he couldn’t do it when the treatment was stopped.”

Morrison stated that although Perry wanted to get better, his fame and fortune made it easier for him to get anything he wanted. “He’d be in a hospital or a rehab somewhere and some girl was outside buying drugs and sneaking them to him,” he said. “While he was being treated for drug addiction, he attempted to have some opioids FedExed to him at a large hospital in New York.”

Perry’s death came as a shock to many, but as Morrison notes, “As Matthew himself said many times in the last few years of his life, ‘If I die suddenly, people will probably be shocked, but not surprised.’ .’”

In August, five people were arrested Including his longtime assistant and doctors in connection with Perry’s death. Ministry of Justice announced He said their investigation uncovered an “extensive underground criminal network” that showed those arrested “took advantage” of selling ketamine to Perry.

Morrison, a veteran true crime reporter, told CBC he is very familiar with such cases and the outrage they cause.

“I’ve probably encountered thousands of people over the years who feel this anger,” he explained. “So I guess my perspective is a little different. Suzanne (Perry’s mother) is very angry, especially at people who are trusted more than anyone else. I’m just very upset and not surprised. The venality of some of these professionals is just… it still shocks me.”

Morrison also touched on Perry’s relationship with her mother, saying, “He and his mother were as close as any two people I’ve ever known…they clearly loved each other pretty intensely.” But at the same time, you know, when they fought, they fought very intensely.”

The Canadian broadcast journalist described how Perry and Suzanne spent a day together just days before she died. “He said it was one of the sweetest days they’d had together in a long time, and he looked so happy,” Morrison said. “(He) actually told her…she’s not afraid of dying anymore. I think he was relating it to the fact that he was able to lay it all out in the book and go tell people (about his addiction issues). It was no longer a shameful secret.”

After Perry’s death, his family established two new foundations in his name. Matthew Perry Foundation of CanadaIt started on Thursday night (October 24). They also established a similar foundation in the United States to support those recovering from addiction.

“(We work with) some great people who are providing opportunities and ideas for treating addiction that go beyond anything (Matthew) could find anywhere to help him,” Morrison said. “You know, even though he had endless money to spend on the problem, there was no kind of treatment that would fix it or help him fix it completely.”

Perry’s younger sister, Caitlin Morrison, serves as executive director of the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, which she says makes her feel closer to her brother.

“I feel like I’m sitting right next to Matthew and working with him every day on something that’s important to him,” Caitlin said. HELLO! Canada. “I have the treasure of always being able to keep it very, very close to my life, and that’s wonderful.”

in it Biography on the foundation’s website, Caitlin wrote that she “will always think of herself as Matthew’s little sister — a wide-eyed girl who thought (still thinks) that her brother was the coolest person to ever exist.”

She added: “The best thing he taught her was that no matter how many times you fail, you’re not a failure until you stop trying.”