One year later, where's all the Adderall?

Plus more health news | Email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Health Matters]( [The mystery of the Adderall shortage only deepens]( By Haley Weiss Health Reporter It’s not unusual for a drug shortage to last more than a year, but there’s usually a pretty clear reason. The Adderall shortage, meanwhile—which hit the one-year mark last week—remains a mystery. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has shared little information with the millions of Americans who have struggled to access the common ADHD treatment. Experts who have spent their careers studying shortages are “baffled.” As it turns out, there might not be a single person who actually knows what’s causing the Adderall shortage. Lawmakers say that’s because the three parties that work together to get the medication bottled and sold aren’t required to communicate enough with one another—and nobody wants to accept the blame. Here’s who’s involved: - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Because amphetamine salts, which are the active ingredient in Adderall, are controlled substances, the agency sets an annual cap on how much manufacturers can use. Even though the DEA has to share this quota publicly, it doesn’t have to disclose any information about how the total is split among manufacturers. And by the way: 30% of last year’s quota never made it to the public. - The FDA. The FDA helps the DEA set its annual quota, and it also determines the regulations for how Adderall can be manufactured and sold. The agency has the power to enforce movement on shortages, but only to a point. Right now, the FDA has joined the DEA in blaming manufacturers for delays, citing the allotment that never made it to market. - Drug companies. Pharmaceutical companies are required to inform the FDA about medication shortages, but they don’t have to provide detailed information about the cause. Manufacturers have mainly blamed increased prescription rates for the shortage, but there’s really no way to know for sure what’s going on. [READ MORE]( Share This Story What Else to Read [If You’re Feeling Anxious, Try This 2,000-Year-Old, Neuroscience-Backed Hack]( By Julia Hotz Imagining the worst that can happen through dedicated 'worry time’ can help stop anxiety in its tracks. [Read More »]( [Why Rewatching Your Favorite TV Show Is Good for You]( By Anna Goldfarb Rewatching TV shows helps people unwind and provides a sense of comfort, research finds. [Read More »]( [The Daily Habits of Happiness Experts]( By Angela Haupt Stop trying to force that frown upside down. Instead, try the joy-building tips experts really use. [Read More »]( [Here’s Why You Always Feel Sicker at Night]( By Markham Heid You're not imagining it. (Originally published in 2019.) [Read More »]( [What Science Really Says About Grilled Meat and Cancer Risk]( By Markham Heid The research on is much less clear than many believe. (Originally published in 2019.) [Read More »]( ONE LAST READ [The history of Operation Warp Speed]( Operation Warp Speed, which gave the U.S. its first COVID-19 vaccines, is cited as one of the few success in the country’s pandemic response. In an excerpt appearing in Vanity Fair from The Big Fail: What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind, Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean describe how the urgency of a new infectious disease forced an unprecedented collaboration between the government and the pharmaceutical industry to produce vaccines in record time. [Read More »]( If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, [click here](. Today's newsletter was written by Haley Weiss and Alice Park, and edited by Angela Haupt. [Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.]( [Subscribe to TIME]( TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via [Facebook]( | [Twitter]( | [Newsletters]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS]( TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508 Questions? Contact health@time.com Copyright © 2023 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.