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Michael Sonnenreich

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Michael R. Sonnenreich
Born
Michael Roy Sonnenreich

(1938-05-05) May 5, 1938 (age 86)
New York City, U.S.
Education
Occupation(s)Lawyer, businessman, investor
Years active(1960s–present)
Known forCo-creating the Controlled Substances Act
Children2

Michael Roy Sonnenreich (IPA: [zɔnənʁaɪç] saw-nen-reich; born May 5, 1938)[1] is an American lawyer, art collector, and a philanthropist who previously worked in technology, pharmaceutical, and global marketing. He is notable for co-creating the Controlled Substances Act while serving as the executive director of the Shafer Commission.

Sonnenreich is the chairman of the board of Kikaku America International,[2] President of The Fund to Conserve United States Diplomatic Treasures Abroad (a privately funded sub-division of the State Department),[3][4] and Vice Chairman of PharMa International Corporation in Tokyo, Japan.[5] He also served as a former adjunct professor of law at the University of Virginia, University of California, Los Angeles, and Southern Methodist University.[6]

Early life

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Childhood

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Sonnenreich was born on May 5, 1938, in Manhattan, New York. He is the son of late Emanuel Hirsch and Fay Rosenberg Sonnenreich. He attended Bronx High School of Science in the early 1950s.

Career

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Government

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Sonnenreich served from 1963 to 1965 as a Second Lieutenant in the military and was honorably discharged.[7] After Sonnenreich graduated from Harvard Law and passed the D.C. bar exam, he started serving in the Department of Justices' criminal law division for a few years.[8] Then, Sonnenreich had transferred to the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (a division of the Department of Justice) as Deputy Chief Counsel from 1969 to 1971, and was later appointed by President Nixon to be the executive director of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse / Shafer Commission from 1971 to 1973.[9] While there, with the help of his friend White House Counsel head John Dean and the Director of the BNDD John Ingersoll, they formulated the Controlled Substances Act.[10][11] He was also President of the National Coordinating Council on Drug Education from 1973 to 1974. [12] While working at the Supreme Court, Sonnenreich became a partner at his own firm Sonnenreich & Roccograndi in Washington, DC, specializing in International Business, Drug Law, Pharmaceutical Regulation. He terminated his law firm partnership after joining Sackler's personal legal cohort.[citation needed]

Relations with Arthur M. Sackler

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While working in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Sonnenreich prosecuted supreme court cases against psychiatrist Arthur Sackler concerning Betadine, Senaflax, Librium and Valium.[13] Although on opposite sides of these cases, Sackler approached Sonnenreich to join his legal team. Sonnenreich at the time wanted to stay "with the government" and did not want to work directly for Sackler; years later however, Sonnenreich accepted his job offer. Sonnenreich worked with Sackler for more than a decade.[14] Sackler gave Sonnenreich the ability to control his assets and stocks while working for him.[15][16] When Sackler died in 1987, Sonnenreich helped establish the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the (Freer Gallery of Art/Smithsonian Institution) and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art to preserve some of both their art collections.[17][18]

Later career

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Sonnenreich has served as a board member and trustee of many companies, among them Wi2Wi,[19] Tyhee Development Corp. Ltd.,[20][21] Scientific American,[22] and Medical Tribune International.[23] Sonnenreich was president of the Washington National Opera from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2006.[24][25][26] He was chairman of the DC Jazz Festival (2010–2014)[27][28] and commissioner of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (2008–2011).[29] Secretary Glickman and Sonnenreich lead the international conference on government regulation and the world food supply in 1997, while Sonnenreich was on the board at Tufts University and Johns Hopkins University.[30][31] In 2007, Sonnenreich "used his extensive Rolodex (and uncanny political abilities) to help free a group of jailed workers employed in an American factory in Asia, thereby averting the shut-down of that company's operations," prompting a reconciliation with the host government.[32]

Recognition

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In 2008, he was named Distinguished Washingtonian by the University Club of Washington, DC. Also, the Washington Life Magazine listed Michael Sonnenreich in the Power 100 three consecutive times, occurring in 2007, 2008, and 2009.[33][34][35]

Further reading

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Committee hearing records

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  • Hearings, Reports, and Prints of the House Committee on Appropriations. US Congress. (1971). US Government Printing Office.[36]
  • Report of the Panel on the Impact of Information on Drug Use and Misuse, Phase I. (1972). National Academy of Sciences.[37]
  • Marihuana research and legal controls (1974). Hearings before the Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate, Ninety-third Congress, second session ... November 19 and 20 (1974).
  • United States Congress Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare Subcommittee on Alcoholism (1975). United States Congress.[38]
  • Presidential Daily Diary, compiled 10-1969 (1969). The White House.[citation needed]
  • Anderson, Patrick. High in America. (2015). Garrett County Press.[39]
  • Sonnenreich, Michael, Bogomolny, Robert, Graham, Robert J. Handbook of Federal narcotic and dangerous drug laws (1969). For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Office[40]
  • Second Supplemental Appropriation Bill (1971). Hearings Before Subcommittees of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-second Congress, First Session (1971). U.S. Government Printing Office.[41]

References

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  1. ^ Identities, WorldCat (2010). "Sonnenreich, Michael R. 1938". OCLC. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  2. ^ "Kikaku America International". pharmaamerica.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "About". United States Department of State, Office of Cultural Heritage. 2016.
  4. ^ "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Supports New Initiative to Conserve U.S. Cultural Assets Abroad, Endorses Business Leader and Philanthropist Michael R. Sonnenreich as President of The Fund to Conserve". BusinessWire. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  5. ^ "Who We Are". Pharma International Inc. 2016.
  6. ^ "ISEYF Company Profile & Executives – Wi2Wi Corp. – Wall Street Journal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  7. ^ Military Law Review Vol. 81 (PDF). Department of the Army. 1958–1978.
  8. ^ https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1717&context=vlr [bare URL PDF]
  9. ^ Strength of the Pack: The Personalities, Politics and Espionage Intrigues. Douglas Valentine. November 15, 2010. ISBN 9781936296910. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  10. ^ Belair, Felix Jr. (May 20, 1971). "Shafer Discounts Marijuana 'veto'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  11. ^ The Quest for Drug Control: Politics and Federal Policy in a Period of Increasing Substance Abuse, 1963–1981. Yale University Press. October 2008. ISBN 978-0300137842. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  12. ^ "Order of Proceedings Symposium, Contemporary Problems of Drug Abuse, 18 Villa-nova Law Review 1973". Villanova Law Review. 18: 788. 1973. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  13. ^ Keefe, Patrick Radden (October 23, 2017). "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  14. ^ "Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Files" (PDF). Smithsonian. 01–182: 8. 1979–1999 – via Smithsonian Institution Archives.
  15. ^ "Casetext". casetext.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  16. ^ Remnick, David (July 30, 1982). "The Sackler Collection, Cont'd". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  17. ^ "A New Life For Ancient Chinese Jades And Bronzes at the Freer". Smithsonian Institution. 2010. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  18. ^ Reif, Rita (January 7, 1993). "Court Upholds Injunction On Sale of Sackler Art". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  19. ^ "Board of Directors". Wi2Wi. 2018.
  20. ^ "Michael R. Sonnenreich, Chairman and CEO of Williams Creek, Joins Tyhee Development Corporation Board of Directors". Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  21. ^ "MR. MICHAEL SONNENREICH NAMED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF TYHEE DEVELOPMENT CORP". Cision. November 2017.
  22. ^ Nahas, Gabriel G. (October 22, 2013). Keep off the Grass: A Scientific Enquiry Into the Biological Effects of Marijuana. Elsevier. ISBN 9781483280370.
  23. ^ "Michael Sonnenreich". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2017.
  24. ^ Page, Tim (February 26, 2004). "Washington Opera Goes 'National' In Name and Vision". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  25. ^ "History". kennedy-center.org. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  26. ^ "How DC Made "National" Mean Nothing". Washingtonian. June 2, 2016.
  27. ^ "Linda and Michael Sonnenreich". DC Jazz Festival. March 19, 2015. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  28. ^ "DC Jazz Fest Trustee Reception". bisnow.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  29. ^ "Public Art Master Plan" (PDF). dc.gov. DC Arts. 2009.
  30. ^ Editorial, Reuters. "Stock Quotes & Company News | Reuters.com". U.S. Retrieved May 14, 2018. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ "Government Regulation and World Food Supply". C-SPAN. February 28, 1997. Secretary Glickman and Michael R. Sonnenreich spoke at an international conference on government regulation and the world food supply. Glickman stressed the important role of biotechnological research and development in addressing world food shortages. After his prepared remarks, he took questions from the audience.
  32. ^ "Power 100". Washington Life Magazine. May 1, 2008.
  33. ^ "The 2008 Power 100". Washington Life Magazine. May 1, 2008.
  34. ^ "The 2007 Power 100". Washington Life Magazine. May 1, 2007.
  35. ^ "The 2009 Power 100". Washington Life Magazine. May 1, 2009.
  36. ^ Appropriations, United States Congress House Committee on (1971). Hearings, Reports, and Prints of the House Committee on Appropriations. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  37. ^ National Academy of Sciences (1972). Report of the Panel on the Impact of Information on Drug Use and Misuse, Phase I. National Academies.
  38. ^ Narcotics, United States Congress Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare Subcommittee on Alcoholism and (1975). Marihuana research and legal controls, 1974: hearings before the Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate, Ninety-third Congress, second session ... November 19 and 20, 1974. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  39. ^ (2015). Garrett County Press.Anderson, Patrick (May 17, 2015). High in America. Garrett County Press. ISBN 9781939430168.
  40. ^ Sonnenreich, Michael R.; Bogomolny, Robert L.; Graham, Robert J. (1969). Handbook of Federal narcotic and dangerous drug laws. For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  41. ^ Appropriations, United States Congress House Committee on (1971). Second Supplemental Appropriation Bill, 1971: Hearings Before Subcommittees of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-second Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office.
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