Text: Acting Head of White House Drug Office Named

12 January 2001

Text: Acting Head of White House Drug Office Named

Edward Jurith replaces Barry McCaffrey

The White House January 10 named Edward Jurith acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), effective immediately.

Jurith, who has been serving as general counsel and director of legislative affairs at the drug agency, succeeds Barry McCaffrey, who resigned from the position January 6.

Following is the text of the ONDCP press release:

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WHITE HOUSE
OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY

January 10, 2001

EDWARD H. JURITH NAMED ACTING DIRECTOR OF
WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY

(Washington, D.C.)-President Clinton today named Edward H. Jurith Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Jurith will act as the temporary replacement for Barry McCaffrey, who stepped down as Drug Czar last week.

Jurith, 49, has a distinguished career in federal drug policy issues. He is currently General Counsel for ONDCP, the agency's top legal officer, and previously served as Director of ONDCP's Office of Legislative Affairs. 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 in the development of a strategy to reduce that country's rate of substance abuse.

Jurith was 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.

Acting Director Jurith will take over the top ONDCP post immediately, and will carry on promulgation of the National Drug Control Strategy. "ONDCP will continue to work with health, social, and law enforcement professionals, as well as parents, teachers, coaches, community coalitions, and international representatives to meet the goals set forth in the National Drug Control Strategy," Jurith said.

For more information about the 2001 National Drug Control Strategy Report, access the ONDCP website at:

www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov

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