Pay Attention: How Big Pharma Contrived the Great American Adderall Drought

The Fix / By Moe Tkacik

Pay Attention: How Big Pharma Contrived the Great American Adderall Drought
During the Great Ritalin Scare of 1993, shortages prompted thousands to switch to Adderall. Now, Shire is contriving an Adderall drought to convert patients to a new ADD drug.

November 22, 2011 |


When Jay V.'s pharmacist told him about the nationwide Adderall shortages last weekend, he reacted as any economically rational finance professional would, and attempted to bribe her. Whatever the cost, "it's cheaper than cocaine," his reasoning went. And even if it isn't, you can’t put a price on never having to go back to doing bumps in the work bathroom to get through late night deal committee meetings, can you?

Jay's pharmacist said she was reserving her supply for regular customers, but that the price had doubled and the clock was ticking. "They're down to one bottle,” Jay said, “and if I don't get them a prescription by the end of next week I forfeit my right to it." So long as he can tear himself away from one of the 16-hour days he cites as the reason he needs Adderall to begin with, he'll be fine. At least, for the next month or so….

If addiction is the kind of thing you think about a lot, it's easy to overlook its significance in the cold, objective Realpolitik scheme of things, which is this: it's a great fucking business model. From the British East India Company to the Bronfman clan to Duke University, history is redolent of abject mediocrities who owe their billions to Big Addiction.

The best of the addiction-based business models are "addiction-proof" addictive drug, and the Adderall story is at its core the saga of a nearly century-long quest for this unattainable ideal. Amphetamine salt—Adderall’s active ingredient—has been the subject of heady dispute within the medical profession since the drug company Smith, Kline and French began peddling the stuff in 1935, but for decades just about the only thing medical community generally agreed about was that it was not addictive. The SKF sales department did, however, have a term for the loyalty it engendered among consumers: “stick.” ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/153176/pay_attention%3A_how_big_pharma_contrived_the_great_american_adderall_drought/

The recall was what, about a year or so ago? I went to the pharmacy the other day for Arth. Strength Tylenol and yet again could not find it in the store - not even a place for it. Had the same experience with Motrin. I didn't only try one place, but 4 or 5 big name drug stores and groceries in our area. We were told that the company still hasn't recovered from the recall.

Call me a tin-foil hatter, but access to OTC decongestants and cold meds is controlled now, next target seems to be our general aches/pain/fever meds. I find it hard to believe that such a large company with such a large customer base would be so lax as to have so many recall incidents, then not 'recover' from them to get safe meds back on the shelves.

I've tried the generic arth strength acetominophen and it doesn't stop the burn in my knees at night like AS Tylenol does. I try to steer clear of ibuprofen and OTC anti-inflamatories due to bp issues, but the IB was for hubby. Docs put me on script arthritis meds, but they sent my BP soaring (180/120). Two days after I went off the meds, my BP was back to normal again.

Both generic and brand names.

Interestingly, what really worked for me was an herb called Boswellia, for inflammation and joint pain.