Not enough to focus

Commentary

By Malaki Lingg Assistant Web Editor

In October 2022, the FDA announced an oncoming shortage of Adderall, Adderall LR, Adderall XR and its generic varieties. Adderall is the combination of two stimulants — amphetamine and dextroamphetamine — used to improve focus, attention and concentration in those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The shortage has been affecting millions of patients who rely on the drug to manage their symptoms of ADHD. The problem has been attributed to increasing manufacturing constraints and disruptions for various pharmaceutical companies.

The primary cause of the shortage has been a lack of the materials required to synthesize amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. The production of Adderall relies heavily on imports of raw materials from overseas, most notably from China. Though in the past few months, China has been undergoing a growing health crisis leading to a number of supply chain issues. Disruptions such as plant shutdowns and delays in transportation have greatly damaged the amount that American pharmaceutical companies can synthesize.

With shortages ongoing, there are significant impacts on patients who rely on the drug to manage their ADHD. Patients have reported difficulty filling prescriptions, with some pharmacies having run out of the drug entirely while others ration them only to those receiving refills. The lack of the drug is resulting in a growing number of those who take it being switched to other medications like Vyvanse or deciding to remain unmedicated.

Those diagnosed with ADHD are pressured into taking medication to improve their performance in school, and while the medications are useful, the lack of them is also debilitating. The symptoms of ADHD are exacerbated when going through withdrawals alongside side effects such as depression, irritability and mood swings. These medications fix our brains’ dopamine issues and the difficulty in receiving these medications is downright cruel. It is like giving those with the disorder a tool to help and then taking it away, essentially giving them a handicap.

The shortage comes as a rude awakening to those diagnosed with ADHD. While the pharmaceutical industry grosses approximately half a billion annually, they can leave American citizens without medication. Constraints due to supply chain issues are understandable, but a nearly five-month shortage of a “life-changing” medication is unethical. The American healthcare system forces us to take these meds to improve our focus and our lives but then cannot come up with a solution when they run out. Nobody should have to ration their medication.

bills that have been filed this session,” per an article from Houston Public Media. This is just the latest attempt in a massive statewide election reform movement that aims to decrease voter turnout.

Kara Lee/The Paisano

enced firsthand the heightened emotions that often occur at polling locations and I will not wait for more violence to act.”

HB 2390 is just one of “over 100 election-related

Campus polling locations, like the one offered at UTSA this past cycle, allow students and staff an opportunity to make their voices heard. Removing these polling locations would have a negative effect on youth voter turnout and is a blatant violation of the voting rights of college students. We deserve to have easily accessible, convenient polling locations on our campuses, and we cannot allow this brazen targeting of our voting rights to go unnoticed.

You can find the contact information for your local representative’s office at https://house.texas.gov/members/ and https://senate.texas.gov/members.php.

Being bashed for my body

Point vs Counterpoint

lazy parenting at its finest and sets up dangerous precedents for the future.”

Riley Carroll Arts and Life Editor

Last week, The Paisano published a commentary by Staff Writer Sam Wendorf covering the use of weight loss medications and their negative effects. Wendorf made a valid argument about how weight loss medication like semaglutide should not be a solution for obesity, but they failed to take into account the variety of causes other than sheer laziness.

“Parents should be feeding their children good food and encouraging them to play outside or participate in sports at school,” Wendorf wrote.

“Some parents are turning to shortcuts they can use to circumvent the attention they should be paying to their kids’ health and wellbeing. This is

Commentary

More than 34 million people in the United States alone face food insecurities. The “lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life” is a common issue due to complex matters like “poverty, unemployment, low income, lack of affordable housing, chronic health conditions or lack of access to healthcare, systemic racism and racial discrimination.” “Good food” is not the most affordable or accessible — I mean, have you seen egg prices recently?

“Some social movements even try to convince overweight people that they are already healthy,” Wendorf wrote.

The definition of healthy is very subjective and hard to pinpoint. Most social movements are intended to empower people through body positivity, not convince them that they are inherently “healthy.” It is unfair to discredit encouraging others to be comfortable in their own skin.

“Obesity in the U.S. is the worst it has ever been, and it will only continue to get worse if we depend on everything but the right choices to deal with it.”

Rather than blaming Americans for being one of the most obese countries in the world, blame suppliers and the government for the lack of proper regulation in what harmful ingredients will be fed to us. Obesity is a wicked problem with many causes, effects and solutions. We cannot reduce it to indolence and gluttony.