Jordan Peterson Recovering From Benzodiazepine Addiction In Russia

Controversial Canadian professor Jordan Peterson is in Russia recovering from a Benzodiazepine addiction, according to a video posted by his daughter on his YouTube channel.

On February 7th, Mikhaila Peterson posted a video in which she read a statement offering an update on her father's recent absence from public life and on his health. According to Mikhaila, her father visited a Russian hospital to receive treatment for physical dependency and a paradoxical reaction to a benzodiazepine he was prescribed after an "extreme auto-immune reaction" to food years ago. Doctors raised the dosage after his wife Tammy was diagnosed with cancer.

Mikhaila stated that the Peterson family had visited several North American hospitals in an attempt to treat Jordan through tapering and micro-tapering treatments, but these were unsuccessful. She added that Peterson contracted severe pneumonia during this time, perhaps from one of those hospitals. The family then turned to an extreme detox program that was only available in Russia.

"The decision to bring him to Russia was made in extreme desperation when we couldn't find any better option," says Mikhaila. "The uncertainty around his recovery has been one of the most difficult and scary experiences we have ever had."

Mikhaila adds that while Peterson is in the midst of a long and difficult recovery, the worst appears to be behind him. She says he is "smiling again" and "his sense of humor is back," and that the next update on the channel will be from Jordan himself.

Mikhaila had previously talked about Jordan's struggles with tranquilizing drugs on the channel before. In September of 2019, she talked about Peterson going to rehab for clonazepam addiction, though clonazepam was not mentioned in her February 2020 video.