Hi! I have ADHD! Did you notice from the everything about me?
ADHD is an example of neurodiversity, or a brain “wiring” that differs from the societal standard. Because of the societal norm being, well, not ADHD, it is also considered a disability. Think of it this way — if humans could fly, but a few couldn’t, those people would be considered disabled by that society’s standards, because that society would be set up for people who flew. Similarly, we as ADHD-havers live in a society that isn’t made for us.
There are quite a few medications out there that up our productivity and attention spans to “normal” by these societal standards, but none are quite as effective as good ol’ Addy. There’s a reason why Adderall near the top of the list of prescribed medications. In 2021, 41.4 million prescriptions were dispensed here in the US alone.
So why is it so freakin’ hard to get?
Maybe I’m biased, but I don’t think there should be so many hoops for disabled folks to jump through to get their meds.
There’s been an ongoing shortage of Adderall, which is highly regulated in the US due to its status as a C-II drug. C-IIs are the big boys, the Norcos and Percocets, the meds ranked just below the scary stuff like heroin and uh, marijuana (unless you live in a cool state like me). Adderall does have a high addiction and dependence rate — but so does alcohol, a drug that’s not medicinal in nature at all, yet is widely available and even promoted in our culture. Due to all this, you’re lucky to get an Adderall script in the first place, and thanks to the shortage, good luck finding it anywhere.
Imagine if we treated things like wheelchairs and service animals like this. Imagine if the very thing that allowed you to function in society was vilified to the extent that Adderall is. I’m not saying we should do away with its prescription only status, but I feel that its C-II status makes it prohibitively hard for people who need it to access it. It’s already hard enough for ADHD folks to make an appointment and go through the long diagnostic process. “But making it easier to get will encourage people to abuse it!” Of course people are going to misuse drugs like Adderall. But people misuse things like Benadryl and cough syrup as well, and those are over-the-counter!
People underestimate how much of a disability ADHD really can be. It’s hard to hold down a job when you’re not able to focus. It’s hard to even acquire a job with our variety of executive dysfunction. Honestly, in severe cases like mine, it can be a safety issue — I’ve nearly swerved off the road looking at a particularly neat billboard. Adderall makes things a little easier for us, and we should be able to obtain it with as few barriers as possible.
Invisible disabilities are already hard. Maybe let’s not make it harder by restricting access to the medicine we need.
JESSA JOYCE 