“The DEA is empowered by federal law to set annual production quotas for all Schedule II narcotics, including amphetamines. Once it sets the quotas, companies apply for a piece of the total and are forbidden from manufacturing more than their allotment. Despite seeing a sharp increase in prescriptions for ADHD treatment, and in spite of an FDA-reported shortage, the DEA kept the same 2022 levels for its 2023 amphetamine quotas.
Earlier this month, the FDA and DEA put out a joint statement to address the continuing shortage. The statement noted that “for amphetamine medications, in 2022, manufacturers did not produce the full amount” allowed under the quotas. While the agencies “cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug,” they nonetheless “called on manufacturers to confirm they are working to increase production to meet their allotted quota amount.”
But there’s more to the story than manufacturer supply. State and local governments sued the three largest pharmaceutical distributors and Johnson & Johnson over claims that the companies had contributed to opioid abuse and deaths. In February 2022, the companies settled for $26 billion and cracked down on potentially suspicious orders of controlled substances from independent pharmacies. As a result, many pharmacies were limited in the drugs they were able to order; some were banned altogether.”
https://reason.com/2023/08/25/government-continues-to-deny-its-role-in-adderall-shortage/