Remote Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults 18 years and older * Are actively using alcohol * Previously met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) B criteria for alcohol withdrawal * Aim to achieve at least 30 days of abstinence as a treatment goal following initiation of remote alcohol withdrawal management * Are able to provide informed consent in English. * Reside or are able to stay at an address within 2-hours travelling distance from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for the entire duration of the remote withdrawal procedure * Are enrolled in the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Exclusion Criteria: * History of complicated withdrawal including withdrawal seizures, hallucinosis, or delirium * Positive UDS for sedatives or opioids, currently prescribed sedatives or opioids, or diagnosis of sedative-hypnotic or opioid use disorder within the past year (based on assessment). Individuals prescribed low doses of benzodiazepines (e.g. lorazepam 1mg PO daily) or with a positive urine benzodiazepine screen that is not thought to be due to benzodiazepine misuse may be permitted to proceed with the study at the discretion of the study physician. * Severe medical or psychiatric comorbidity that would prevent safe participation in the study * Contraindications to the safe use of diazepam including: known hypersensitivity to diazepam severe respiratory insufficiency, severe hepatic insufficiency, sleep apnea syndrome, acute narrow-angle glaucom…