Adderall Shortage Caused by DEA Quotas on Controlled Substances

Nothing feels (in my personal life don't @ me) as much of an attack on my neurodivergence as the nonsense that is getting medication for my ADHD. I have to go to a doctors appointment to get a prescriprion, I have to call to get that prescription filled, I can't fill the prescription early so I don't run out, I have to go to the pharmacy to pick it up. All so we can pretend that college kids wont be able to obtain a substance that is arguably safer than caffeine. (They sell Tylenol over the counter and you can kill yourself with that even easier don't @ me).

If you don't know, all of the steps listed above are what my medication helps me accomplish. Its like they designed a wheelchair store with a full flight of stairs in order to get in.

"About 90% of the diverted immediate-release stimulants are used by a narrow demographic: white male college students"

I'll eat my hat if this is actually true. US college students are about half white right now. The other half, plus all women, plus all people who don't go to college, plus everyone who isn't 18 to 22, are 10% of the illicit-stimulant market combined? This has to be something made-up to attack what they feel is an outgroup.

It seems this article is trying argue in favor of deregulation of production of drugs, such that drug companies can more freely produce to fill demand. Is that necessarily a good solution with addictive substances like amphetamines?

We saw that production and consumption of opiates was far too high, eventually leading to the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma. In that case it seems like the DEA was not taking a strong enough regulatory role, leading to much harm to Americans.

Are we facing an upcoming epidemic of amphetamine addiction and the DEA is holding it back, or is the DEA causing more harm through regulation of production? It’s impossible to tell from this article alone, but it seems clear we need at least some regulation of production, since the pharmaceutical industry cannot completely self regulate.

Dr Dodson has been helping pharma companies push these drugs for a long time:

https://archive.ph/2024.04.17-223802/https://www.nytimes.com...

Full disclosure, he was my doc and diagnosed me with ADHD. I kind of think the whole thing is a scam now in large part due to this.

The restrictions on ADHD medicine where I live are incredible.

I have to have a special registration card, separate from any other medical insurance or ID. When I get fill the prescription I must present photo ID, can only get a very limited amount etc. If my medical details insurance change for in any (for example an address change) my ability to fill the prescription is instantly cancelled until those details are updated (even though for any other medication this is not the case. For other medication there is a simple way to handle these changes retroactively, but not for ADHD medication).

Multiple times I've been without medication because of these traps. Not only that, they are rare and unusual enough that health care professionals don't know about them and sometimes give you incorrect advice.

Something is very weird with that site and adblockers. Here’s an archive link if you’re having issues loading it, like I was: https://archive.is/sZglD