Sam Bankman Fried Gets Approval to Receive Adderall for ADHD While in Jail

Under custody until his trail in October, Bankman is said to have a history of depression alongside attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Sent to jail on Friday after a revocation of his release on bond, FTX and Alamada Research founder ‘Sam-Bankman Fried’ has now requested the court judge for an “uninterrupted access” to his daily dose prescribed medication throughout his time in the jail.

A major prescribed drug alongside other medication is ‘Adderall’, which as per Bankman’s lawyer is important for his treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

“For over five years Mr. Bankman-Fried has been prescribed Emsam 9 mg/24 hrs transdermal patch for the treatment of depression and for the past three years, Mr. Bankman-Fried has been prescribed Adderall 10mg tablets, 3-4x per day for the treatment of ADHD,” said attorney Mark Cohen in his letter request to Judge Lewis Kaplan on Monday.

The request also included a letter from Bankman’s psychiatrist, George Lerner, who has been with Bankman since 2019.

“Mr. Bankman-Fried has a history of Major Depressive Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” said Lerner in his letter to the court.

“There have been times when Mr. Bankman-Fried did not have access to the Emsam patch and exhibited symptoms of depression, including lethargy, anhedonia, low motivation, and increased ruminations,” he added.

Judge Kaplan approved the request later that same day, allowing Bankman to have a daily dose of both his depression and ADHD medications.

Bankman Fried was sent to jail directly from a court hearing in New York over accusations of witness tampering during his bail time. Currently held at the Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC, Bankman will be staying there until the start of his criminal trial on 2nd October.