Max A. Schneider, MD, FASAM, Former ASAM President has Passed Away

Max A. Schneider, MD, FASAM, former President of ASAM, passed away Sunday, September 28. He was 92 years old. Dr. Schneider was known to many in the medical community as one of the founding fathers of training and education in the field of addiction medicine. He dedicated his life to advocating for improvements in addiction education and authored numerous publications and films on the subject of alcoholism. He had a long career as a practitioner and as an instructor. His accomplishments were recognized with awards from the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the California Medical Association.

Max and his partner, Ron Smelt, had been together for 44 years and were married several years ago. There will be no memorial service for Max. Instead, Ron is honoring Max’s wish for immediate cremation and to spread his ashes at sea. Ron has requested no flowers and suggested a donation instead. Although he did not state a preferred organization, Max’s legacy could be honored with a donation to the Ruth Fox Memorial Endowment Fund which he helped to establish for ASAM almost 25 years ago and actively served as the Chair through 2012.