A friend of Matthew Perry still backs the controversial use of ketamine by addicts - and revealed the Friends' actors fatal mistake.

Asher Gottesman, 50, founder of Transcend Recovery Community, has spent more than a decade working in addiction recovery in the US.

Gottesman, also a rabbi, knew Perry socially, and expressed sadness at his death to a fatal ketamine overdose in October 2023.

But despite the risks, Gottesman continues to advocate for ketamine - when administered under strict clinical supervision.

Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on Friends, had long struggled with addiction and openly shared his battles.

His death highlighted the use of ketamine as a therapeutic tool and its dangers when misused.

Speaking for the first time since Perry's death, Asher, said: "Ketamine for people with severe depression is extremely important."

Adding a crucial warning, he said: "The problem is when they become the solution. "

"Ketamine being used on a recreational basis or being used afterward on a regular basis is very dangerous."

"The challenge is he [Perry] had an addiction, and he had pain, [and] he had a lot of suffering. "

"He ended up using the substance that he was using for good to harm himself because he ended up using it at home. "

"And I think that was the major danger — had he just used it at a clinic."

With one of the largest sober living chains in the country under his leadership, Gottesman has made it his life's work to help those struggling with addiction not just survive but find meaning and purpose in their lives.

Gottesman continues to advocate for stricter regulations and oversight of ketamine, aiming to protect vulnerable individuals from the potential for misuse.

"Substances that can save lives can also kill lives," Gottesman says."

"If we set up a system under which we can protect those that are using it and only give it in appropriate environments, then we can prevent these tragedies."

Despite the heightened awareness of the dangers, Gottesman remains steadfast in his mission to reshape addiction recovery in the United States.

Sober since 2008, he turned away from a successful career in real estate and private equity to focus on Transcend Recovery.

"I find that recovery is a nonlinear process," Gottesman shares. "It's not about just going to treatment and getting out and you're suddenly better. It's really about finding a better life because drugs and alcohol are a solution—they're not the problem. They're a short-term solution to a long-term problem."

At the core of Gottesman's philosophy is the belief that addiction thrives in isolation, and that community is the antidote.

He is a strong advocate for 12-step programs.

"Community offers accountability. It also offers a shared vision and reduces shame because you're around other people that have gone through what you've gone through and understand you specifically," Gottesman explains."

Gottesman advocates exploration of innovative treatments like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and ketamine therapy under proper supervision.

He is also working on a book about loneliness which he believes is closely connected to addiction.

"We continue to be lonely if we don't begin to identify the underlying issues and find alternative ways to deal with them," Gottesman says. "

His focus on community and connection is a guiding principle, both in his personal life and his work in recovery. As he puts it, "Humility is realizing that I'm no greater than and no less than anybody else."