The lawyers of FTX’s co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried sent a letter to the Federal Judge on Sunday. They have requested the judge to allow Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication for SBF, stating that he cannot focus on the trial without these meds. The defense team worries that Sam Bankman-Fried might not be able to testify in front of the court without a 12-hour extended release 20 mg dose.
The lawyers say that Sam Bankman-Fried was prescribed Adderall to be taken throughout the day for his ADHD. However, he was only given Adderall once in the last two weeks of the trial, reducing SBF’s capability to focus on the defund cryptocurrency exchange FTX dilemma and his trial. On the other hand, the Court and the Government have not focused on this issue despite constant calls from SBF’s lawyers.
The filing said,
“Mr. Bankman-Fried has been doing his best to remain focused during the trial for the past two weeks, despite not having his prescribed dose of Adderall during trial hours. 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 because of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s lack of access to Adderall, he has not been able to concentrate at the level he ordinarily would.”
Stop the Trial for One Day – Lawyers of Sam Bankman-Fried
The lawyers have further requested the judge to stop the trial for Tuesday, October 17, so they can find an alternate solution if SBF has not taken the drug or if it did not work for him. They insist that it is necessary so that they can get a solution that works for SBF in the rest of the trial.
Furthermore, the lawyers have asked the permission of the judge to provide SBF with his Adderall prescription in court during the trial. SBF’s defense team claims that they tried to solve his medication issue by getting in touch with the Bureau of Prisons but they did not get a response from that in five attempts. They tried to contact them through emails and calls in the second week of October.
Previously, Judge Kaplan allowed the ex-FTX CEO to access Adderall and other anti-depressants on August 14. His lawyers have claimed that SBF has a history of depressive disorder and ADHD. He has also remained in psychiatric care for the past four years.
Even after the approval from Judge Kaplan, lawyers complained about SBF’s lack of access to medication. The lawyers have also claimed that SBF is struggling to maintain his vegan diet and he has been limited to bread, water, and peanut butter. This is the third week of the highly anticipated trial of Sam Bankman-Fried.
