Absolutely, yeah. I’ve never been addicted to benzos, but have full-on DT withdrawals when actively drinking. The visceral terror is indescribable to anyone who hasn’t experienced it. I’ve often been so out of it that I’ve gone to the ER in the middle of the night (only because the liquor stores are closed and/or I’ve run out of money), gotten a thirty day script for benzos, and come-to three days later having taken them all while still drinking. Those moments are…dark. I’m also fully aware that to those who haven’t lived it, I likely sound moronic (here’s where I go – and I got a full PhD scholarship to study this exact thing at Oxford! I promise I’m smart!) I’m equally aware that context is everything, though. Ultimately we need a combination of substance education and, more importantly, up-stream interventions (including a mass overhaul to drug legislation and what prohibition represents) so that fewer folks will reach the point that I have. This has become tangential, but yes, kindling, bad and scary.