Who Deserves Amphetamines?

Last October, the Food and Drug Administration announced a shortage of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medication Adderall, leaving millions who are prescribed the drug scrambling to fill their prescriptions. The shortage, which has persisted into this year, appears to have been caused, at least in part, by the misadventures of a handful of shady telemedicine startups, which grew rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic by making it easy to access a wide range of drugs with only brief online evaluations. Last year one of these companies, Ahead, closed down, and major pharmacies stopped accepting prescriptions from two others (Cerebral and Done) due to possible violations of the Controlled Substances Act. After a pandemic glut, Americans have been left in stimulant withdrawal.