To the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the following pharmaceutical manufacturers:

·      Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. 

·      Teva Pharmaceuticals.

·      Barr Laboratories. 

·      Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. 

·      Sandoz (a division of Novartis). Barr Pharmaceuticals. 

·      Actavis. 

·      Mallinckrodt. 

·      Mylan.
 

Subject: Petition to Fix the ADHD Medication Supply Chain Dysfunction – Because We Can't Focus on Solutions When We're All Out of Meds!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the DEA, the FDA, and the C-Suite Investo-Folk who drive outcomes at the pharmaceutical manufacturers listed above,

We hope this petition finds you in good spirits, despite the unending ADHD medication supply chain turmoil that has our students flailing in school and our workforce binging true crime podcasts at work. Y’all make a lot of money to solve problems, so we would like to ask you to create a taskforce that has operational grit and political will to work out the kinks in the ADHD medication supply chain.

Obviously, we don't know friction points in the manufacturing and distribution processes, but we know there are processes, and we know those of you listed have the ability to control the inputs and outputs of those processes. Since we can't remember where our car keys are, we would appreciate it if you could pool your collective high-functioning mettle to  solve this supply problem.

Thoughts we think with:

Excuse 1: "Supply Chain Dysfunction Due to Pandemic" We appreciate the severity of COVID-19, but we fail to see how it is still impacting the supply of ADHD meds in 2023 when other meds are not equally sporadically available.

Excuse 2: "Regulatory Hurdles and DEA Red Tape" No doubt the DEA is fluent in red tape, but these medications are essential to millions of people. You can streamline the process without sacrificing national security. Enforce controls at the pharmacy and prescriber level – those guys CAN focus; they spent a lot of time in school and professional practice and are regulated by licensure boards. Please adopt real-world metrics for dispersion of the controlled substances that make the pills that we need to function. 

Excuse 3: "Manufacturing Issues and Shortages of Raw Materials" Kids build spaceships with LEGOs. What exactly are the raw materials for which there is a shortage? Boxes? Gelatin tablets? If the DEA can solve supply of the controlled substances that go into the medications that we need to function, we believe in you to be able to get what you need to meet the demand. 

Excuse 4: "Distribution Problems" We understand that "misplaced" shipments can be an issue, but might we suggest GPS trackers? Supplies of other medications are not impacted to this degree. Other pills manage to get shipped to pharmacies without interruption. Alternate idea: create a new supply chain for pharmaceuticals. 

We invite all the governmental, corporate, and pharmaceutical brainpower represented here to lay aside politics and profit-motive long enough to figure out how to create a sustainable solution to the ongoing and in-many-cases life-threatening shortage of ADHD medications. Let's remember that ADHD is a real condition that affects millions of people, and access to the medication is vital. 

Sincerely,

All of Us who sign this petition

P.S. We are hyperfocused on this. Can you please join us and push this through to solution?

(Image credit: Photo by Demi-Felicia Vares on Unsplash)