New and events of the Philadelphia Bar Asso.
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With a little coaching from my attorney father, who had testified before in congressional hearings, I seemed to perform well. After my testimony before the commission and a packed auditorium at the new J.F.K. High School (every city had one back then), during a break, Sonnenreich again pulled me aside and said, "The commission members were impressed with what you said and how you said it. And they would like to appoint you as a youth consultant to the commission to work in Washington, D.C. in the summer." Though stunned, I remained impassive, and simply said, "I would be honored to so serve. Thank you and thank you to the commissioners." Securing parental approval, after the fact, I left for Washington on June 10, 1972 to serve my country and my president in my first government job. I was one of a handful of youth consultants, ostensibly hired to give the middle-aged men and women on this stuffy commission the "youth" viewpoint of the nation's drug problem and possible solutions. The reality is that we were probably mostly window dressing – so the commission could say that it had consulted knowledgeable representatives of America's youth. However, the taxpayers got their money's worth because we all worked hard and produced valuable research contributing to the final commission report. I authored a report on "Minimal Brain Dysfunction and Drug Therapy" concluding that, contrary to popular belief, the treatment of MBD (then also called Hyperkenesis, now Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in children with stimulants like Ritalin®, did not lead to drug abuse. In fact, to the contrary, it engendered a healthy respect for prescription drugs, if not also aversion to illegal drugs. I also co-authored a report on over-the-counter drugs – "Consumption Patterns of Psychotherapeutic Drugs" – and consulted on projects studying high school drug policies, drug adulterants, drug deaths and minority group drug education programs. Not too shabby for a barefoot boy from the bayou. I lived in a George Washington University dormitory at the corner of 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, two blocks from the White House, one block from the aptly-named C.R.E.E.P. Thursday, November 17, 2015 Te Crystal Tea Room, Wanamaker Building Philadelphia, PA Cocktail Reception and Awards Dinner 6:00-9:00 PM To purchase tickets or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, contact Lana Ehrlich at (215) 557-2392 or lehrlich@alm.com. AWARDS DINNER 2015 LAWYERS ON THE FAST TRACK Featuring Pennsylvania's Finest Attorneys Under 40 Sponsors: 38 the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2015