The New Jersey Assembly Health Committee approved a bill which would allow pharmacies to transfer Schedule II attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication to other pharmacists to address the current shortage. Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, Assemblywoman Margie M. Donlon, and Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley sponsored the legislation.

Changes to federal law now allows Schedule II-V drugs to be transferred from one pharmacist to another and New Jersey allows transfer for Schedule III and IV. This change to state law would only affect ADHD medication.

“Living through an ADHD medication shortage is a reality that too many families face, and it’s a struggle that hits close to home for me. My daughter, Molly, relies on her prescribed medication to thrive both in and out of school,” said Assemblywoman Katz (D-Atlantic, Burlington). “However, when we recently visited the pharmacy, we were confronted with the unsettling news that they didn’t have the correct dosage available. Faced with the dilemma of either accepting a slightly larger dose or going without her medication, we reluctantly opted for the former. Little did we anticipate the side effects it would have on Molly, and they prevented her from enjoying her usual activities and disrupted her daily routine.”

Molly Katz also testified in favor of the bill that she helped create.

“I’m not the only person who is dealing with this and I know there is a shortage across New Jersey. There are countless other people who have to decide between skipping a dose or feeling terrible side effects from the incorrect dose,” said Molly Katz. “Allowing pharmacies to transfer ADHD medication between them is a way to fix this issue and it’ll mean what happened to me won’t happen to another kid in the future. That’s why I am speaking for them today.”