^She does say that they can be benign, but she goes on to describe multiple ways that they are toxic. Like all things, toxicity is dose dependent... She says as much. Also, as much as I love Prof. Ashton, she wrote this in like the late 80's / early 90's and there is much more information available nowadays on negative effects of benzodiazepines.
I'm not arguing with you specifically, benzos can be useful for sure. They can be seriously detrimental in many cases however, and I just want people to know specifically where the danger lies. Many people do not even realize that benzos make many people aggressive and suicidal, and wonder why they feel this way.
As I was saying in earlier posts, choosing a benzo wisely makes a huge difference. Understanding the nature of the drugs in general helps even more. I just want people to make informed decisions.