Schedule 1 drugs have not gone through rigorous and expensive ($billions) testing that allows them to be put into schedule II-V or unscheduled. DEA also refused to give out any schedule I testing permits that may have allowed certain drugs to be tested for medical use. However, certain organizations that were known for being anti-marijuana routinely received permits for their testing. The process also takes 5-10 years for drugs to be approved. I don’t think the policy changes occurred until the Obama administration. This is also why drugs like Psilocybin and LSD were not studied in the US. DEA wouldn't give out permits and no one had the money for it. MAPS and other organizations finally got the ball moving. Support from Johns Hopkins and other top tier research institutions provided some legitimacy to testing as well.

Don't worry about him. There's people who think google is enough experience to know how the world and medicine work when it really doesn't work that way at an individual level.

I would call psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners and be honest. Don't waste your time trying random doctors. If you have a therapist that's on board that goes a long way.

100% wrong. They absolutely have to do with dependence and addiction potential.

"Schedule IV
Schedule IV drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence. Some examples of Schedule IV drugs are: Xanax, Soma, Darvon, Darvocet, Valium, Ativan, Talwin, Ambien, Tramadol"

While I'd argue they should probably be schedule III because they're danger is underestimated, you're just wrong. I don't know what else to tell you as someone who has had experience having these drugs prescribed, being around them, working with them, and understanding how to play the system. If you'd like to say his 4 year gap means he won't get them because you have trouble getting them then that's fine, but it's your opinion. But trust me, you don't want to die on the hill of "benzos are worse than opioids because their withdrawal is worse, so you can't get a prescription for them", it's just wrong. in 2017 there were 25 million xanax prescriptions, OP's situation is exactly when they would prescribe them. As a non first list anti anxiety medication at a low dose for someone who has tried many other options that haven't worked.

I've said what I am going to say. If you want to live in some delusional world because you hate being wrong on the internet then that's fine. The truth is drug seeking behavior isn't just a checklist of behaviors. If you need a medication then you are by definition drug seeking even if it's not in the traditional sense of the word. Prescription history, affect, the clothes OP is wearing, the words he chooses to use, etc all effect a provider's decision to prescribe these drugs or not. Hell you can even go look up a prescriber on medicare part D and see how many prescriptions they have written for certain drugs when there is a medicare claim. Internists and family medicine routinely write prescriptions for benzos, even if their long term use is impractical and doesn't have much efficacy.

Opioids are schedule II and have had a lot of political issues. Benzos are schedule IV and have had much less attention. While benzo withdrawal may be worse, even the government recognizes their addiction potential is far less. I work with and around these drugs all the time. A 4 years gap for something like this is irrelevant because diseases lapse and come back.

Yes and no. If he has a long standing history of being on them, especially at a low dose with a history of trying other drugs, most providers will prescribe them with caution.

OP, I would call and talk to someone on the phone. Be 100% honest. They will be able to tell. It's not like you're trying to seek opioids (narcotics).

Many general practitioners and internists will prescribe them in your situation because you do have a documented history of using them, trying other medications, and being on a low dose.

Something similar happened to a Hopkins student recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same group of people.