What the Latest Shortage Data Show
Sixteen percent of the drug shortages currently active in the United States involve controlled substances, and the two patient groups the pharmacists' association names first are people with ADHD and people managing chronic pain.
That figure comes from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which compiles shortage data with the University of Utah Drug Information Service. Its assessment is direct: patients with chronic pain or ADHD may struggle to fill monthly prescriptions, and health systems may struggle to obtain sufficient supplies for surgeries and procedures.
The controlled substance slice sits inside a broader trend. Active shortages rose to 227 in the second quarter of 2026, the third consecutive quarterly increase, according to ASHP data reported by AJMC. That remains well below the record of 323 set in the first quarter of 2024, but the direction has reversed. Just under half of all new 2026 shortages, 48 percent, involve products with a single manufacturer.
For stimulants specifically, the picture is improvement without resolution. ASHP's shortage bulletin for amphetamine mixed salts immediate-release tablets, last updated April 30, 2026, lists Oryza Pharma with 5 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg tablets on back order, Rhodes with multiple strengths on back order and no estimated release date, and Sandoz and Teva with certain strengths available only in limited supply.
Why a Controlled Substance Cannot Simply Move to Another Pharmacy
The most common source of frustration at the counter is a rule patients rarely have explained to them. When a pharmacy cannot fill an ordinary prescription, staff can usually call it over to another store. Controlled substances do not work that way by default.
Schedule II drugs, which include most stimulants used for ADHD and many opioids used in pain management, carry no refills. Each fill requires a new prescription. Prescriptions also live in a closed distribution system in which every transfer, dispensing, and record is tracked under federal law, and pharmacies receive allocations rather than ordering freely.
There is now a workaround, but it has conditions. Under a DEA final rule effective August 28, 2023, an electronic prescription for a Schedule II through V controlled substance may be transferred between DEA-registered retail pharmacies for initial filling, one time only, at the patient's request. The transfer must be communicated directly between two licensed pharmacists, the prescription must stay in electronic form, and the content must be unaltered. The rule applies only where state law also permits it.
Two limits matter for patients. The transfer must be requested by the patient, so no one will initiate it for you. And it covers electronic prescriptions only. A paper Schedule II prescription cannot be transferred, which means going back to the prescriber for a new one. The DEA has described the change as removing the previous requirement that patients return to their practitioner to cancel and reissue.
What a Partial Fill Can and Cannot Do
If a pharmacy has some of your medication but not all of it, a partial fill may bridge the gap. This is a federal right, not a favor, though it comes with a clock.
Under 21 CFR 1306.13, implementing the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a pharmacist may partially fill a Schedule II prescription at the request of the patient or the prescriber, provided partial filling is not prohibited by state law and the total quantity dispensed across all partial fills does not exceed the total quantity prescribed. The remaining portion, if filled, must be dispensed no later than 30 days after the date the prescription was written. For an emergency oral prescription, that window is 72 hours.
The 30-day clock runs from the written date, not from the date of the first partial fill. A prescription that sat unfilled for two weeks before a partial fill leaves roughly two weeks to collect the balance.
State rules add variation. Massachusetts, for example, directs that only the pharmacy dispensing the original quantity may dispense the remaining portion and prohibits charging an additional copayment for the balance. Ask your pharmacist what applies where you live, and ask whether your plan will process a second claim without an extra copay.
Questions Worth Asking at the Counter
A few specific questions tend to move things faster than a general request for help.
Ask whether the pharmacy has any quantity in stock and whether a partial fill is possible today. Ask whether the prescription arrived electronically, because that determines whether a transfer is available. If it did, ask the pharmacist to transfer it to a named store that has confirmed stock, since a transfer to a pharmacy that also lacks the drug uses up your one-time option.
Call other pharmacies before asking for a transfer. Many will confirm whether a strength is in stock, though some decline to discuss controlled substance inventory by phone, which is a security practice rather than an obstruction. Independent pharmacies are worth including in the search, since supply allocations differ from chain patterns.
If nothing is available, the conversation moves to the prescriber. Options a clinician may consider include a different strength of the same drug, a different formulation such as immediate-release instead of extended-release, a different agent within the same class, or a non-stimulant alternative. Those are clinical decisions and require a new prescription in any case.
What Not to Do While You Wait
The federal health advisory attached to this shortage is unusually blunt about the risks of an unmanaged gap. The CDC issued a health advisory on disrupted access to prescription stimulant medications, warning of possible increased risks for injury and overdose.
Do not stretch a supply by cutting doses or skipping days without telling your prescriber. Abrupt changes in stimulant dosing can affect concentration, driving safety and emotional regulation, and abrupt changes in pain medication can produce withdrawal symptoms and uncontrolled pain. If rationing is the only option available, that is a clinical situation your prescriber needs to know about so it can be managed rather than improvised.
Do not take someone else's medication, and do not buy from online sellers outside a licensed pharmacy. Counterfeit pills containing illicit fentanyl have been found in products sold as prescription stimulants and pain medication.
Anyone experiencing withdrawal symptoms, uncontrolled pain, chest pain, severe agitation or thoughts of self-harm during a medication gap should seek medical care promptly rather than waiting for a refill.
What Happens Next
ASHP updates its shortage statistics quarterly, with the next release expected in the fall. Individual product bulletins are updated more often as manufacturers report back orders and release dates. The FDA maintains a separate shortage database, and the two lists do not always match, which is why checking both is worthwhile.
MedicalDaily will monitor the next quarterly figures, DEA production quota decisions affecting stimulant supply, and any change in the controlled substance share of active shortages.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of the shortage involves controlled substances? Sixteen percent of active shortages, according to ASHP's second quarter 2026 statistics. Total active shortages stood at 227.
Can my pharmacy transfer my Adderall prescription? Only if it was sent electronically, only once, only at your request, only between DEA-registered retail pharmacies, and only where state law allows it. Paper Schedule II prescriptions cannot be transferred.
What is a partial fill? Dispensing part of the prescribed quantity now, with the remainder available later. For Schedule II drugs the balance must be filled within 30 days of the date the prescription was written.
Will I pay two copays for a partial fill? It depends on your plan and state. Some states prohibit an additional copay for the remaining portion. Ask the pharmacist before agreeing.
Is the ADHD medication shortage over? No. It has improved since 2022 but ASHP still lists multiple amphetamine strengths on back order or in limited supply as of its April 30, 2026 bulletin update.
Can I just take a lower dose to stretch my supply? Not without telling your prescriber. The CDC has warned that disrupted stimulant access carries risks including injury and overdose. Dose changes are clinical decisions.
Where can I check current shortage status? ASHP's current shortages list and the FDA drug shortages database. The two do not always agree, so checking both gives a fuller picture.
