Edward H. Jurith 

Drug-Free Workplace Program

Award 

Description
	

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Executive Office of the President is pleased to announce 

the creation of the Edward H. Jurith Drug-Free Workplace Program Award for excellence in Drug-Free Workplace Programs. 

This award was created in 2015 in honor of the late Mr. Jurith and his influential roles in United States and 

international drug control policy. The award will recognize excellence in federal agency Drug-Free Workplace 

Program implementation. 

Agencies may apply for the award by completing the application form located at 

http://www.samhsa.gov/workplace/workplace-programs by July 15, 2015. Applications will be 

reviewed and award selection made by a committee of ONDCP, Department of Health and Human Services, 

Department of Justice, and Office of Personnel Management officials. The first award will be granted in a 

White House ceremony in September 2015. 

About Edward H. Jurith, J.D.
	

Edward H. Jurith’s commitment to developing substance abuse policy and a drug free workplace is reflected 

in his long distinguished federal career in both the legislative and executive branches of government. His first 

major involvement with drug policy was in the legislative branch as Counsel to the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, serving later as Staff Director under Chairman Charles Rangel. Mr. Jurith joined the 

Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1994, where he was appointed twice to serve as Acting Director—first 

by President Clinton in 2001 and then by President Obama in 2009. He also served as ONDCP’s General Counsel, Senior Counsel, and Associate Director for Legislative Affairs. 

During his ONDCP tenure, he served as the United States Representative and Working Committee Chair for 

the Education Committee for the World Anti-Doping Agency, an international independent agency composed 

of sport and government leaders focusing on promoting science and research-based guidance to establish a 

doping-free sporting environment. In 1997, he served as an Atlantic Fellow in Public Policy at the University 

of Manchester in the United Kingdom, where he researched and lectured on drug policy issues. As part of the 

Atlantic Fellowship, Mr. Jurith assisted the UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator in developing the Blair Government’s 

strategy for reducing substance use. He lectured widely on drug policy at U.S. and British universities and has 

authored numerous publications on substance use issues and drug policy. 
About the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program
	

On September 15, 1986, President Reagan signed Executive Order 12564, establishing the goal of a Drug-Free 

Federal Workplace. The Order made it a condition of employment for all federal employees to refrain from 

using illegal drugs on or off duty. In a letter to all Executive Branch employees dated October 4, 1986, the 

President reiterated his goal of ensuring a safe and drug-free workplace for all federal workers. 

The Executive Order recognized that illegal drug use is seriously impairing a portion of the national work 

force, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars each year. As the largest employer in the nation, the federal 

government has a compelling proprietary interest in establishing reasonable conditions of employment. 

Prohibiting employee drug use is one such condition. Each agency is concerned with the well-being of 

its employees, the successful accomplishment of agency missions, and the need to maintain employee 

productivity. The intent of the policy is to offer a helping hand to those who need it, while sending a clear 

message that any illegal drug use is, quite simply, incompatible with federal service. 

On July 11, 1987, Congress passed legislation affecting implementation of the Executive Order under Section 

503 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100-71, 101 Stat. 391, 468-471, codified at 5 

U.S.C. §7301 note (1987), to establish uniformity among federal agencies’ drug testing plans, reliable and 

accurate drug testing, employee access to drug testing records, confidentiality of drug test results, and 

centralized oversight of the federal government’s drug testing program. 

The purpose of the agency Drug-Free Workplace Program is to set forth objectives, policies, procedures, 

and implementation guidelines, to achieve a drug-free federal workplace, consistent with the Executive 

Order and Section 503 of the Act. Detailed information about the program can be found at 

http://www.samhsa.gov/workplace/workplace-programs, or by contacting Hyden S. Shen, J.D., Policy 

Oversight Lead, Drug-Free Workplace Program at (240) 276-2600 or DWP@samhsa.hhs.gov. In the subject 

line of the email, please type “Jurith Award Question.”