Becky Upham, Everydayhealth.com, March 17, 2025
A recent White House executive order is focusing national attention on medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and raising concerns among mental health experts about possible future restrictions.
References to ADHD medications are included in the White House executive order from February 13 establishing the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) commission created to investigate “the growing health crisis in America.”
The order calls for the commission to produce a new report on children’s health that offers “fresh thinking” on several factors including the “overreliance on medication and treatments” to address the “childhood chronic disease crisis.”
The order included a mandate for the MAHA commission to “assess the prevalence of and threat posed by” several prescription medications, including stimulants used to treat ADHD in adults and children, within the next 100 days.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is chairing the commission, raised similar concerns about ADHD medications during his confirmation hearings.
“With this recent executive order, along with other comments that have been made, people are worried that it may become more difficult to get ADHD medication. Patients of mine, the parents of patients of mine, have stated their concerns about being able to access medications that are helpful for their children,” says Max Wiznitzer, MD, a pediatric neurologist at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland and co-chair of the Professional Advisory Board at CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
Executive Order Alone Can’t Restrict Access to ADHD Meds
Despite the executive order, restricting access to any medication would require action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), says Dr. Wiznitzer.
Also, Congress has procedures that must be followed to change the way a drug is administered.
If the MAHA commission determines that ADHD drugs (or any drugs on its radar) shouldn’t be prescribed in the way that their current approval allows, it’s still very unlikely drug approval would be revoked, says Diana Zuckerman, PhD, president of the National Center for Health Research in Washington, DC.
An effort to revoke approval would take many public meetings and would likely take years, she says.
“If the appointed commission has questions or concerns about the safety, long-term use, or dosing of these medications, the most likely scenario is that they would ask for more long-term studies to be performed. But the drugs would still be available while those studies were carried out,” says Dr. Zuckerman.
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How Many Kids Take ADHD Drugs?
In his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said that 15 percent of American children take Adderall, a type of ADHD medication. However, data suggests only about 5 percent of children are prescribed any type of ADHD medication.
An estimated seven million children — that’s 11.4 percent of U.S. children ages 3 to 17 — have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to a national survey.
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Is ADHD Medication Safe?
Stimulants, the most commonly prescribed medications for ADHD, can have negative side effects such as stomachache, weight loss, irritability, decreased appetite, and insomnia.
Some stimulants may increase the risk of developing heart problems or psychiatric problems like anxiety or depression. Particularly in teens and adults, there is a risk of misuse of these medications, including taking too much, inappropriately using them, or sharing them with friends.
However, when taken under the care and supervision of a doctor, stimulant medications are safe, mental health experts say.
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Some Parents of Kids With ADHD Worry About Restricted Access
Many parents have seen how ADHD treatment — both medication and behavior therapy — helped their children learn the skills to thrive, says Wiznitzer.
“That’s why they are now very concerned. They do not want the government to tell them how to take care of their children. They do not want the government to limit the access to medications that have helped their children be successful, to help their children function much better,” he says.
Many parents are initially resistant to their kids taking these medications, and when they start improving, they often ask, “When can we stop the medicine?” says Wiznitzer.
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To read the entire article on EveryDayHealth.com, click here ADHD Meds Face Scrutiny from RFK Jr. and Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission