Controversial Canadian author and academic Jordan Peterson has been treated for addiction to anti-anxiety medication in Russia, his daughter has said.
Peterson rose to fame in conservative circles in 2016 for opposing what calls “radical political correctness authoritarianism,” and his polarizing stances have drawn widespread controversy. He is estimated to have authored 50 books, including in the self-help genre, and sold more than 30 million copies.
Peterson’s family sought treatment for his “physical dependency” to benzodiazepine in Russia last month after failed attempts in North America, his daughter Mikhaila Peterson said Friday.
“We had to seek an emergency benzodiazepine detox, which we could only find in Russia,” she said in a YouTube video viewed 2 million times.
Doctors in Russia placed Peterson in an eight-day induced coma after diagnosing him with a fever and pneumonia on arrival. Peterson said her father was “on the mend” but “has a long way to recover fully.”
“He almost died from what the medical system did to him in the West,” Mikhaila said in a video and script provided to Canada’s National Post publication.
“The decision to bring him to Russia was made in extreme desperation when we couldn’t find any better option,” she said.
She did not disclose where in Russia Peterson’s treatment took place, but the CBC News broadcaster reported the location as Moscow.
“My family has put a stop to any more information,” Mikhaila told CBC News. “When dad’s ready, he’ll start talking about details.”