Californians with ADHD are waking up every day unable to get their life-sustaining medication. Pharmacies are empty. Insurance companies are stalling. Patients are being told to “go to the ER.” This is unsafe, unacceptable, and inhumane. We demand the State of California declare a public health emergency and take immediate action.

 
Why this matters:
Without medication, people with ADHD can’t work, study, parent, or manage daily life. Withdrawal brings crushing fatigue, panic, depression—even suicidal thoughts. This isn’t an inconvenience—it’s destroying livelihoods, education, and mental health.

We are living through a public health emergency, but the state has not recognized it as such.

 
We call on California leaders to:

• Declare a State of Emergency on ADHD medication shortages.
• Direct the California Department of Public Health to track and publicly report stimulant availability across pharmacies.
• Empower pharmacists to dispense equivalent dosages or formulations when standard supplies are out, without unnecessary red tape.
• Require insurance plans (including Medicare Part D & Medi-Cal) to approve medically necessary gap prescriptions immediately.
• Formally petition the DEA and FDA to raise national quotas so supply meets real patient demand.
   
  
  

This crisis is happening right now. Unless California acts, more patients will spiral into preventable emergencies.

Sign this petition and demand that California recognize ADHD medication access as the public health emergency it is. Lives, jobs, and futures depend on it.

No one should ever be told to go to the ER because their daily medication is unavailable. California must act now.