Adderall, sometimes referred to as a little blue 'study buddy', vanishing from shelves

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It is a medication in high demand but it is nowhere to be found on store shelves.  
   
Now people, even pharmacists, are asking where they can find more.
 
Caleb-Michael Files is a UMKC sophomore with dreams of heading to law school.
       
In addition to juggling classes, he is the head of a campus political group, a resident assistant and holds a job, all while he battles Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Files explained what it is like living with ADHD.  "I can't focus," he said. "I can get things done but it may not be my best me."

There are several medications that treat ADHD and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). Among them is a little blue pill known as Adderall, a prescription amphetamine that calms those who are diagnosed.
      
Files told NBC Action News that taking Adderall is his only means to earn a law degree. "If I don't take it, I can't focus."

The problem is, he told NBC Action News, he has gone to four pharmacies and "there's no place in the city where I can find it."

Kansas drug inspectors said a common formula for adults called Adderall IR (instant release) has vanished from pharmacy shelves.

Darren Lea with Albers Pharmacy said they are turning away four to five patients a day.  "They call and check back everyday  and ask 'do you have it yet?'"

The main reason for the shortage is because Adderall is a controlled substance. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) puts a limit on how much a manufacturer can make because psychostimulant amphetamines are highly addictive.        

Pharmacists say manufacturers have reached the limit this year, so they have to wait for permission from the DEA to produce more. Manufacturers are asking the government to allow them to have larger batches of the active ingredient so they can keep up with demand.
    
Demand, however, is on the rise and not always for the right reasons.
    
While Census data shows diagnosis for ADD and ADHD has skyrocketed to more than 4.8 million children in the U.S., not everyone who has a prescription has one that is legitimate.

Files said, "It's frustrating knowing I can't get it but that other people have ways of getting it and that they may be using it for things that aren't what its used for."

The WebMD website warned that a person who takes a stimulant amphetimine could experience "a loss of appetite" and "weight loss".  The website also said the drug can also cause someone who is not diagnosed with ADD/ADHD to experience "excessive cheerfulness and activity".
     
Those are reasons why experts say the prescription drug is running rampant on college campuses.

Students say it helps them be hyper-focused when taking a test or helps them pull "all-nighters".  It is why Adderall is sometimes referred to as the "little blue study buddy."

"It's not taboo to ask somebody for it," Files said. "I hear it in class all the time."

With the help of several young people NBC Action News uncovered how to get it, no problem.

Caleb texted one of his friends: "Hey, do you know where I can get some Adderall?"  In less than an hour, one of our subjects received a text message in reply: "What mg and how many do you want?"

None of our subjects made a purchase, but if they had, they said they would have paid up to $5 a pill.
      
When supply dries up and demand stays high, so do the prices. Albers Pharmacy said when the drug was available, a $48 bottle of 30 pills nearly doubled to $84.

Some online suppliers mysteriously claim to have it, too. For 60 pills, you will need a lot cash: $500 in one case.

Mark Woods with St. Lukes Hospital said hospitals are also feeling the effects of drug shortages, "One of the great unknowns is how someone in one of these grey markets are able to get adequate supplies of drugs."

Files is frustrated. "You can be sitting in class and somebody talking about how they're focusing or how they may be losing weight on it and it's like I need that to be able to function and here you're using it for something that's for vanity and trying to look better."

But doctors will tell you these addictive drugs, if abused, will eventually kill your short-lived focus, your dreams and possibly you.

If abused or combined with alcohol, it can be fatal.

Manufacturers say some drug companies might be consider changing the way they make the drug so it cannot  be cut up, snorted and abused. Slow-release capsules are already coated in an edible plastic that prevents that from happening.
    
Doctors say there are other alternatives that patients with ADD or ADHD can use until the DEA lifts the limits after the first of the year.