Why people needed help: the Adderall shortage
Fastjack existed because millions of Americans with ADHD couldn’t fill the prescriptions their doctors wrote. This isn’t just my view. The FDA, Congress and the national press reported it for years.
Timeline
- Pharmacists’ shortage bulletins list generic Adderall (amphetamine mixed salts) as short, with one manufacturer discontinuing it.
- Pharmacies across the country report they can’t get Adderall. In one national survey, 64% of pharmacies had trouble ordering it.
- The FDA officially announces a nationwide shortage of Adderall.
- Sen. Ron Wyden presses the DEA over ADHD drug shortages.
- The FDA and DEA acknowledge that manufacturers sold only about 70% of their allowed amphetamine in 2022, about a billion doses that were never made.
- One year in, Rep. Abigail Spanberger and 15 House colleagues write that the situation “has only worsened.”
- House Oversight Democrats question drugmaker Teva about the shortage.
- House Oversight Chairman James Comer and Rep. Lisa McClain blame DEA quota decisions.
What Congress said
“I am very concerned that many folks suffering with ADHD will not get the health care they need, which impacts their daily life, and in the worst case may lead them to use potentially lethal non-prescribed drugs.”Sen. Ron Wyden, letter to the DEA, June 2, 2023 · source
“Without the necessary medications, students struggle to learn and regulate their emotions, contributing to the mental health crisis facing children. This is unacceptable.”Rep. Abigail Spanberger and 15 House members, letter to the DEA and FDA, October 12, 2023 · source
“Our constituents share story after story detailing how hard it is to fill prescriptions for Adderall and that the shortage affects every element of their lives. … adults are forced to contact every local pharmacy in an attempt to obtain a medication that may be the difference between being productive and focused in the workplace, or losing their livelihoods.”House Oversight Democrats, letter to Teva, February 21, 2024 · source
“DEA’s mishandling of the APQ system resulting in shortages is not a new problem. … It is critical that DEA work with pharmaceutical manufacturers, not against them.”Chairman James Comer and Rep. Lisa McClain, letter to the DEA, May 13, 2024 · source
What patients and doctors said
“My life is turned upside down. My ability to deliver both at work and in my personal life the way I’m used to is compromised.”A New Jersey patient who called 16 pharmacies in two days, Vice, October 4, 2022 · source
“People become very adamant about having their medicine—not because they’re abusing the drugs, but because they realize how important the medicine is to their daily functioning.”Dr. David W. Goodman, Johns Hopkins, in Vice, October 4, 2022
“19 pharmacies in a row told me that they were out of stock.”Guadalupe Hayes-Mota, biopharma supply-chain specialist and MIT lecturer, STAT, April 14, 2023 · source
“Absolutely a daily nightmare for a physician like me with a neurodivergent clinic.”A physician responding to ADDitude’s survey of 10,936 patients and caregivers, September 26, 2023 · source
“I have several patients who have been off their meds for two to three months.”Dr. Lenard Adler, NYU Langone, NBC News, February 6, 2024 · source
More on the shortage and how it shaped Ryan Brandstrom’s federal case: ryanbrandstrom.com/adderall-shortage.