In a few hours, I will begin a two-hour (one-way) drive to the pharmacy to pick up a 30-day supply of generic Adderall.

It’s not for a lack of any closer pharmacies, and it’s not because of the stimulant shortage. I have to drive this far because of new DEA rules.

I used to get Adderall from my local Buy n Large pharmacy without a problem, until a few weeks ago. I asked the head pharmacist what had changed, and he explained everything to me while expressing extreme sympathy for my situation. Apparently, the DEA recently sued Buy n Large for $3 billion for “not doing enough to keep drugs from flowing into communities”, and part of the settlement agreement included a new restriction: that controlled substances can only be dispensed if the prescribing physician is local (defined as within 50 miles). He recommended I try other pharmacies in town, but all others I called had taken up a similar policy.

I live in a rural area which, like most rural areas in America, is underserved by healthcare specialists including psychiatrists. When I moved here, I had to drive two and a half hours to the nearest megacity in order to be seen by a psychiatrist in a timely manner (<90 days). I do most follow-up appointments by webcam so it wasn’t too much of a problem… until now.

I like to create original media. Nearly every piece of worthwhile art I’ve ever created was made possible by my medication. The periods I go without it are the dark ages of my life. That’s why I’m willing to make the drive today.

It pisses me off that I have to waste so much time, energy, and gasoline because a cop in a boardroom somewhere decided that too many people were getting Adderall and the best way to combat this “problem” would be to make it more of a pain in the ass for people to get.

  • LaughingLion [any, any]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    1 year ago

    If you have chronic pain due to some kind of internal injury are they supposed to require you to submit xrays and other scans to them to verify? How the fuck does that even work?

    I got prescribed Testosterone because my genetics are fucked. I’m cisgendered. I’m just a low T male because my dad was exposed to chemicals from the US government that gave me defects. But some transphobe fuckwad pharmacist wanted to be petty and refuse to sell me syringes because they are taking a stand. YOU JUST SOLD ME A GODDAMN INTRAMUSCULAR MEDICATION HOW THE FUCK DO IT GET IT IN THERE OSMOSIS? I had to drive to another pharmacy to get my meds.