SBF’s ADHD Medication Dilemma Complicates Trial

Sam Bankman-Fried may testify at his upcoming criminal trial, his defense hinted in a late-Sunday filing. However, his persistent lack of access to effective ADHD medication complicates their decision-making.

In a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, defense attorney Mark Cohen stated that despite receiving inadequate amounts of Adderall from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), his client “has been doing his best to remain focused throughout the trial.”

“However, as we approach the defense case and the critical decision of whether Mr. Bankman-Fried will testify, the defense has a growing concern that due to Mr. Bankman-Fried’s lack of access to Adderall, he has not been able to concentrate as well as he normally would, and he will not be able to participate in the presentation of the defense case meaningfully,” Cohen wrote.

The prosecution anticipates concluding its case by midday on October 26, at which point the defense will present its case, if it is presented at all. There are indications that they will do so, but it is still uncertain whether Bankman-Fried will take the stand.

The difficulty Bankman-Fried encountered in obtaining his prescribed medication while in federal custody exemplifies how the bureaucracy of justice works against defendants.

Since August, when he was remanded, his attorneys have fought for the former FTX CEO to receive his total Adderall dosages.

Their early efforts were successful, but as the trial progressed, things became more complex, and the BOP ignored their repeated phone calls and emails.

Cohen stated that the defendant now receives a morning dose of Adderall, which wears off when the jury enters the courtroom, and then nothing until he returns to Brooklyn lockup at night. He is prescribed three to four daily doses of Adderall.

Cohen stated that Bankman-Fried would receive an extended-release dose from the BOP each morning, but he cautioned that “there is no way to know” how effective it is or if the BOP will even administer it.

Cohen proposed postponing the trial for one day to figure things out, and he requested permission to administer Bankman-Fried’s medication himself if that failed.