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Telehealth Ketamine Linked to Paralegal's Death
19 Mar
Summary
- Paralegal Tricia Dewey died from ketamine and Xanax intoxication.
- The drug was prescribed by telehealth company Better U.
- The incident echoes Matthew Perry's fatal ketamine overdose.
A New York paralegal's death has been linked to a telehealth company's prescription of ketamine, a drug also implicated in actor Matthew Perry's overdose. Tricia Anne Dewey, 41, died last July 18 from accidental intoxication due to a mixture of ketamine and Xanax, according to the Westchester County medical examiner. Her family's lawsuit against Better U claims the company prescribed ketamine to Dewey, who had disclosed she was taking Xanax, a dangerous combination according to FDA warnings.
Dewey had been battling a painkiller addiction and was drawn to Better U's promise that ketamine could 'retrain your brain.' The lawsuit names an unnamed clinician for prescribing the ketamine. Better U's CEO stated that while the situation is tragic, their clinicians are independent professionals. He also highlighted that ketamine-assisted treatment, while potentially beneficial, carries significant risks, and the company implements safety protocols.
This incident draws parallels to the October 2023 death of actor Matthew Perry, who died from the acute effects of ketamine. Perry had struggled with drug abuse and used ketamine regularly. The rise of independent ketamine clinics, including those offering telehealth services, has been noted, with authorities warning about the risks of unsupervised home use of the drug, which is an anesthetic not FDA-approved for psychiatric treatment.
