Chronic medication shortages caused by failed DEA quotas need an urgent solution

We have an acute and chronic shortage of medications that Americans rely on, and it is completely unnecessary! It is extremely frustrating -- no, absolutely infuriating -- to have one's pharmacy try to get a medication a family member relies on in for over a month, only for it to be on backorder every single time, and to call another pharmacy and be told, "That's on extreme backorder." It sounds like this artificial scarcity has been thrust upon Americans by an over-zealous quota system from the DEA/FDA. I absolutely understand the desire to curb misuse of medications, but this is flushing the baby out with the bath water. People rely on these medications to function in their lives. It is ableist to treat the needs of people as optional. We need URGENT action to fix this mess. The DEA's position as of November 1, 2023 that they think the current quotas (combined with mechanisms for voluntary relinquishment of quotas) are sufficient to solve this crisis is clearly wrong, given that over 4 months later we still have EXTREME shortages. This situation is untenable. Please do everything you can to put pressure on the DEA and FDA to provide a REAL solution to this crisis.