Steven Slate

Steven Slate is a Research Fellow of Baldwin Research Institute, whose mission is to research cutting edge drug and alcohol issues, educational methodology, and best practices for drug and alcohol problems and related issues, to guide the drug and alcohol treatment industry and recovery society as a force for change, and to honestly and objectively educate the public as to the effectiveness of treatment and prevention programs with respect to drug and alcohol use. He co-authored The Freedom...See more

Steven Slate is a Research Fellow of Baldwin Research Institute, whose mission is to research cutting edge drug and alcohol issues, educational methodology, and best practices for drug and alcohol problems and related issues, to guide the drug and alcohol treatment industry and recovery society as a force for change, and to honestly and objectively educate the public as to the effectiveness of treatment and prevention programs with respect to drug and alcohol use. He co-authored The Freedom Model for Addictions, which is the culmination of BRI's decades of research and experience helping people with substance use problems. Steven came into the field after 5 years of addiction treatment had failed to help him solve his own heroin use problem, and he rejected the teachings of treatment to finally solve his problem. By shedding the "addict" self-image, embracing the fact that he was in control of himself, and recognizing that he could choose to change his substance use habits without a lifetime of meetings, treatments, and relapses, he finally ended his destructive heroin use habit. He's gone on to study addiction, and found that the majority of people said to be addicted get over their problems without any treatment or meetings whatsoever, and that a wide body of research spanning several decades easily disproves the treatment industry's claims of involuntary substance use and a "disease of addiction". His critical refutation of the brain disease model of addiction has appeared in textbooks published by McGraw Hill and Greenhaven press, and has since been confirmed by several internationally recognized addictions researchers, academics, and neuroscientists. His TEDx Talk "Our Relationship With Addiction" can be found online, and he appeared in the 12 Step exposé documentary "The 13th Step." His website is a popular source of alternative theories of addiction and research demonstrating that all substance use is fully voluntary behavior, that addiction treatment can be harmful, and that so-called addicts and alcoholics are more likely to resolve their problems without addiction treatment. His work is committed first to respecting the autonomy and right to self-determination of all substance users, denouncing myths about substance use, denouncing attempts to coerce and scare substance users into quitting, and finally presenting the facts that empower substance users to make choices that decrease their difficulties with drugs and alcohol. See less