The relentless push to develop ever-more complex neuroscience tools and so called "mechanistic" studies to control neuronal circuits relevant to addiction is getting out of hand. Tools change every six months; their complexity makes them impossible to implement in most labs or with robust behavioral readouts. Studies take years when they were taking months, and studies aren't replicated. We forget the real goal: transforming the understanding and treatment of addiction We're building spaceships to cross a river when a simple bridge would do. Behavioral pharmacology offers robust and replicable methods that can be used to discover new treatments and refine and repurpose existing treatments—making a real-world impact now. Combine it with large unbiased omics studies and AI-assisted medicinal chemistry to test new targets/compounds/formulation, and you will get basic research that truly helps people.