Harm reduction can still be a valuable first step if the substitution is indeed less harmful.

I know people who switched to cannabis and found good success with it. They've since gotten help with the underlying addiction issues, and are in a much better place.

Probably not a good idea to see substitution as a long term solution though.

Substitution can be a valid part of a harm reduction approach, if it allows someone to begin a process that otherwise feels impossible. Or if it is simply less damaging to the individual and those around them than what they're using now. It can be a step, if not a solution.

But I hope no one is trying to roll their own addiction recovery program out of the HN comments today. If anyone thinks they might need it they should get competent help.

It is. But I'd argue it's a net win in that alcohol is far worse for you.

I'm doing quite well in this regard. I have low-level chronic pain and it did wonders there too. Took it for years and only recently have stopped to do a reset/reevaluation. Tapering/quitting was rapid with the only impact of sleep issues for a week. It was definitely worth it.

Can't speak for the OP but having watched family deal with addictions before, my answer to that question whenever it came up became "So what?". A dependency on something might be bad an and of itself, but usually the real reason why an addiction is bad is because of the negative effects it has on your life beyond just being dependent on the vice. If someone went from a dependency on alcohol to a dependency on coffee, no one would blink an eye because coffee's other problems aren't nearly as bad. In my opinion, anything that's even a little less bad than whatever addiction you're trying to break is a step in the right direction. You can worry about not having an addiction at all later when just having an addiction is the worst thing you're dealing with.