Why is there an Adderall shortage? ADHD medication is scarce as classes begin

Millions in America are having problems getting prescriptions for the medications needed to treat their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It’s a problem that has been going on for more than a year but recently got even worse, with shortages of ADHD medication drying up around the country just as classes begin.

There are many medications that treat ADHD—Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse are among the most well known—but nearly all have seen severe shortages in recent months. Bloomberg even highlights some people who have driven an hour to a lone pharmacy that said it had the medication in stock only for it to be sold out by the time they arrived.

So why is there a shortage of ADHD medications? The answers depend on whom you talk to. But generally, people cite four likely reasons:

• Lack of additional production facilities: Adderall maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries told Bloomberg that increasing production would require new facilities. Current facilities are “running at full capacity,” according to Tea’s CEO. 
• The economics of generics: While many pharmaceutical companies would happily build new facilities if one of their star drugs was in such high demand, ADHD drugs are available in generic forms, with many pharmaceutical companies making them. Generic drug prices are much lower than patented or brand-name drugs that one pharmaceutical company owns, so profits are lower, too. When there is less profit involved, there are fewer incentives to spend big to boost production.
• Controlled substance classification: Some pharmaceutical companies say the real problem with ADHD drug availability is that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies ADHD medications as controlled substances, and therefore restricts the amount that manufacturers can legally produce. However, the DEA says the pharmaceutical companies aren’t producing as much of the drugs as they are allowed.
• Stigma: Finally, others say the lack of enough ADHD medications isn’t helped by the stigma around mental health disorders. If there were a shortage of cancer medications that could lead to death, lawmakers would be forced to act to address the lack of output or face public backlash. But as Craig Surman, director of the clinical and research program in adult ADHD at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told Bloomberg: “Mental health challenges tend to have a stigma. Legislators may not feel like this is a politically worthy agenda.”

In a joint letter dated August 1, 2023, the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they recognize the important role that ADHD medications play in the treatment of the disorder and that the “lack of availability of certain medications in recent months has been understandably frustrating for patients and their families.”

But the letter goes on to say the ADHD medication shortage “is not a problem that the FDA and DEA can solve on our own” and urges “all stakeholders to work together to resolve these shortages as quickly as possible.”