David is recognized as a national leader in:
He teaches that addiction is a primary medical illness which is best treated in a multidisciplinary fashion with an abstinence-oriented model of recovery, utilizing the group process in conjunction with medication assisted treatment.
Dr. Smith founded the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics in 1967, inaugurating the principle of “Health Care is a Right, not a Privilege.” He is Chair, Addiction Medicine & MQAC, for Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services in Petaluma, California, a residential treatment center for teens with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, the Medical Director for Avery Lane Healing Center for Women, as well as the Medical Director of Center Point, in San Rafael, California, a therapeutic community focused on those coming out of the criminal justice system. Dr. Smith is a Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine, a past President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM). He is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs and co-author of “Unchain Your Brain: 10 Steps to Breaking the Addictions that Steal Your Life.”