FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Rafael LeMaitre / John R. Yacup (202) 395-6618
July 6, 2001
ONDCP DIRECTOR EDWARD JURITH APPOINTED TO THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION'S STANDING COMMITTEE ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE
(Washington D.C.)—Edward H. Jurith, Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), has been appointed to the American Bar Association (ABA), Standing Committee on Substance Abuse for a three-year term.
"The ABA's Standing Committee on Substance Abuse is an important private-sector partner in the effort against substance abuse. Attorneys are in a unique position to apply their knowledge of the legal system to the development of programs and policies that prevent and treat drug abuse," said Acting Director Jurith.
The Standing Committee on Substance Abuse collaborates with national groups, state and local bar associations, and other ABA entities to address issues of substance abuse. The Committee also works to encourage bar associations to actively develop and foster lawyer and public participation in community and justice system efforts regarding illegal drug use.
The ABA's Standing Committee on Substance Abuse was originally created in 1990 to address programs and policies regarding illegal drug use. Since then, the Committee has focused its efforts on long-term solutions to the nation's drug
problems—alternatives to incarceration, such as drug courts; treatment services for drug-dependent persons processed through the criminal justice system; treatment in lieu of criminal prosecution in appropriate cases; and education, prevention, and treatment programs, especially for young people.
Acting Director Jurith served as an associate in New York at the firm of Lyon & Erlbaum from 1976–1981, where he specialized in criminal and civil litigation and appeals. Jurith graduated cum laude with honors in government from American University in 1973 and received his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in New York in 1976. He is a member of the New York and District of Columbia Bars. Jurith has a distinguished career in federal drug policy issues. Prior to joining ONDCP, Jurith served as Legal Counsel and Staff Director to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control from 1981 through 1993 under Committee Chair Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). Jurith served as an Atlantic Fellow in Public Policy at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom from 1997 to 1998, where he advised the British government on the development of a strategy to reduce that country's rate of substance abuse.
