Originally Posted by
BeeBee 
Do you think that Xanax is more addictive than Valium? What would make Xanax more addictive than any of the others. I thought a benzo was a benzo was a benzo. Anyone have any idea?
*not medical advice*
In action a benzo is a benzo is a benzo, though they can very in other ways such as potency (.25mg vs 2mg vs. 7.5mg, etc), half-life, administration (injectable, pill, etc), binding affinity, etc.
People tend to find Xanax more addicting because of the high potency + short half life....which results in a quick in / quick out. Think of it like a peak and valley instead of a more flowing wave like you'd see in something longer lasting like Valium. The lowest pill dose of Xanax is .25mg, with a 12-15 hour half-life, compared to Valium's 2mg and 20-50 hours. In simple terms this means that Xanax is far more potent (amount needed for something to happen) than Valium. It is important to note that this doesn't inherently make one more 'addictive' than the other, though it is an important factor when considering dosing.
One of the problems with Xanax is that it does it's job VERY well, but once someone goes Xanax, they tend to not want anything else. Then there is the addiction risk, problems tapering off, etc.
-p