I think the safety issue is really pretty obvious. It's really hard to obtain barbiturates because the therapeutic index is very small for barbiturates. The effective dose very quickly becomes a small ratio to the lethal dose.

It's really hard to give you modern references, because the barbiturates are really a treatment of last resort, in many regions.

If you're worried about addiction, stay well clear of the barbiturates. They're far more of a problem than are the benzodiazepines, in my opinion.

Lar