Online Adderall prescription blamed for 21 year old’s suicide
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A mother has blamed lax Adderall prescriptions brought in during the Covid pandemic for her son’s suicide.
Elijah Hanson was found dead at 21 on the kitchen floor in Tacoma, Washington, on June 25 after filming himself playing Russian Roulette with a loaded handgun.
His brother, Ethan, said that he was abusing Adderall in the months leading up to his death. His mother, Kelli Rasmussen, blames the drug abuse for his suicide.
She told CBS that despite her son not having Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), he was able to secure a prescription online by lying to telehealth providers – even though he had previously suffered from other mental health issues.
The Covid pandemic led to a laxing of law surrounding the prescription of Adderall. Previously, these scripts were not allowed unless a person was consulted in-person by a doctor. Now a person can receive the drug after only a virtual doctor visit.
Adderall, one the most popular prescriptions for ADHD, is currently facing a shortage amid high demand and manufacturing issues.
Elijah Hanson (pictured), 21, died by suicide in June. He had suffered mental health issues for years. His family said that a recent Adderall prescription he obtained through Cerebral played a role in his death
Hanson (pictured) was playing Russian Roulette with a gun kept in the household when he died by suicide. His mother would later find his dead body in her kitchen
Kelli Rasmussen, Hanson’s mother, accused the online telehealth platform Cerebral of being complicit in her son’s death.
He received a prescription for the drugs in April, even after the platform denied him in February after deeming him a high-risk patient.
Elijah had been diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder and had received years of treatment at a local clinic.
Cerebral, and platforms like it, arose during the Covid pandemic after regulators laxed laws for the prescribing of ADHD drugs.
Previously doctors would have to meet with a patient in-person to write a prescription, but now only a virtual consultation is necessary.
‘It was him and I in this huge battle, constantly looking for therapists, psychiatrists, anybody to take him on to help him with his issues,’ Kelli Rasmussen, Hanson’s mother, told CBS.
Kelli Rasmussen (left), Mr Hanson’s mother, blamed Adderall for her son’s death, saying it made his mental health symptoms worse. Ethan Hanson (right), Elijah’s brother, said he knew his brother was abusing Adderall
Cerebral is a San Francisco, California-based telehealth platform that used to offer prescriptions for anxiety, ADHD and other medications.
A person using the service can get a prescription written within hours after completing a survey and virtual consultation with a doctor.
The first physician Elijah met on the platform denied him the drugs, citing concerns about his mental state.
He created a new account in April, and was able to secure a prescription for Adderall, according to CBS.
Ethan said he knew his brother had lied and that he was abusing the drugs.
‘You can definitely tell he was taking way too much. And he wasn’t in his right mind at all,’ he said.
Only two months after receiving the drug he committed suicide.
Whether or not he was high on Adderall when he died by suicide is not clear.
While cases like Mr Hanson’s are dramatic, it is just one of many examples of young people getting their hands on Adderall too easily through these telehealth platforms.
Adderall is a controlled substance in the US, meaning it requires a prescription to obtain. Possessing or selling it without approval is illegal.
Its distribution through online providers was banned by the 2008 Ryan Haight Act, a law named after an 18-year-old who overdosed from drugs he bought online.
The law barred Adderall prescriptions for patients who had not received an in-person visit with a physician.
This restriction was temporarily lifted during the Covid pandemic as telehealth became more widespread and use of in-person health services declined.
Cerebral, and competitors like Done and Hims, started to offer Adderall quickly and easily through their telehealth platforms as a result.
The companies have been criticized for relatively lax policies on prescribing drugs and for advertising directly to younger people on social media apps like TikTok.
Prescriptions of Adderall increased 15 percent for Americans aged 22 to 44 from 2020 to 2021.
Surges in demand, combined with manufacturing issues, have led to a shortage of Adderall expected to last at least into 2023.
Cerebral did not respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment on Mr Hanson’s death.
The firm has been under fire in recent months, finding itself embroiled in a growing list of controversies.
The Department of Justice issued a subpoena looking into the company over alleged misuse of controlled substances – like Adderall.
In the weeks following, pharmacy giant CVS said it would no longer fill prescriptions for Cerebral patients, citing the subpoena and the company’s lax prescribing guidelines.
Kyle Robertson, CEO and Founder of the firm, stepped down amid the controversies in May.
He later claimed that leading investors in the company were pushing to increase the number of prescriptions written to boost revenue. The firm has since denied these accusations.
As the Covid pandemic winds to an end, many policies put in place in response to it are starting to be rolled back.
There is no end date for the laxing of Adderall prescription regulations. Cerebral is pushing for the change to become permanent.