Australia Has An ADHD Medication Shortage So They're Self-Medicating With The Next Best Thing...COCAINE!

In what sounds less like public health policy and more like the plot of a dark comedy, Australia’s ongoing ADHD medication shortage has reportedly gotten so bad that some people are now self-medicating with cocaine instead.

Yes. Actual cocaine.

According to new reports and government treatment data making the rounds online, cocaine-related treatment admissions in Australia have now surged to a 10-year high as addiction specialists warn that growing numbers of people unable to access prescription ADHD medication are turning to illegal stimulants to function.

Which is probably not the “alternative treatment pathway” healthcare officials had in mind.

The situation has become a full-blown mess. ADHD diagnoses across Australia have skyrocketed in recent years, but access to psychiatrists, prescriptions, and regulated stimulant medications apparently hasn’t kept up at all. Patients are reportedly sitting on waitlists for months while pharmacies continue struggling with medication shortages involving common ADHD drugs.

And because the universe has a twisted sense of humor, the black market stepped in immediately.

Experts say some people who can’t get prescribed stimulants are now using cocaine as a substitute because it produces similar short-term stimulant effects, namely increased focus, alertness, energy, and motivation.

Which technically works in the same way, replacing coffee with methamphetamine also technically wakes you up.

Addiction specialists are now sounding the alarm as treatment clinics reportedly see a growing number of dependency cases tied to stimulant self-medication and cocaine use.

“When people can’t access treatment, they start looking elsewhere,” one expert reportedly warned.

And apparently, “elsewhere” now means Pablo Escobar’s treatment plan.

The internet immediately exploded after the reports surfaced because the entire situation feels like satire written by somebody trying way too hard to make a political point.

One viral comment read, “When your healthcare system accidentally creates new addicts.”

Another wrote, “Imagine failing a drug test at work and trying to explain it’s technically an ADHD treatment.”

Healthcare professionals continue stressing that cocaine is absolutely not a safe replacement for ADHD treatment and warn against self-medicating under any circumstances.