Ah, I thought it was a big book reference as in the doctor’s opinion, alcoholism is obliquely referred to as a physical allergy as well as a spiritual ailment.

Benzo allergies do technically exist; there’s something of .035–.005% chance of being allergic to benzos with a 3-9% mortality rate, meaning that if you take benzos, there’s arguably as high of a .000005% chance of having a fatal allergic reaction. It would be weird to develop an allergic reaction after being prescribed benzos for a prolonged period of timed , if this really is an allergic reaction, I’m sure it will be detailed in medical journals as this is almost certainly an unprecedented development in how the medical community understands benzodiazepines.

That being said, I think it cheapens addiction and Dr. Peterson’s experience as an addict to write it off as an allergy because that’s a more palatable option for his fans. Addiction is a cruel beast that respects no boundaries; pretending that Dr. Peterson is immune to addiction just makes the struggle of legitimate addicts, including Dr. Peterson, more difficult.