According to CoinDesk, Sam Bankman-Fried's defense team is facing complications in deciding how to proceed with his criminal trial due to his lack of access to adequate medication for ADHD. In a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, defense attorney Mark Cohen expressed concern that Bankman-Fried's inability to concentrate may hinder his ability to participate meaningfully in the presentation of the defense case. The defense is considering whether Bankman-Fried will testify in the trial.

Prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case on October 26, after which the defense team may present their case. It remains uncertain whether Bankman-Fried will take the stand. His struggle to secure his prescribed medication while in federal custody highlights the challenges defendants face within the justice system. Bankman-Fried's lawyers have been attempting to obtain his full doses of Adderall since he was remanded in August, with increasing difficulty during the trial.

Currently, Bankman-Fried receives a morning dose of Adderall that wears off by the time the jury enters the courtroom, and no further doses until he returns to Brooklyn lockup at night. He is supposed to receive three to four doses per day. Cohen stated that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will provide an extended release dose every morning, but there is uncertainty regarding its effectiveness or whether the BOP will even administer it. If this does not work, Cohen proposed adjourning the trial for one day to find a solution and requested permission to provide Bankman-Fried with his medication himself as an alternative option.