Lawyer to help kick off Sober Day USA

Saturday, April 29, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.

Former O.J. Simpson defense attorney Robert Shapiro's legal work has long brought him into contact with drug abusers.

His clients have included many who, because of their drug use, saw their fame turn to infamy - among them, actor Robert Downey Jr. and baseball All-Star Darryl Strawberry.

But his most potent brush with substance abuse came only six months ago, when his son, Brent Shapiro, died after popping half a pill of Ecstasy.

Before that fateful October night, the 25-year-old USC student, who had begun experimenting with drugs and alcohol in his midteens, had been sober for 18 months. But then he had a few drinks during a USC football game and, later that night at a birthday party, had more drinks and the Ecstasy.

He began vomiting, but those at the party decided he could just sleep it off. Although he became violently ill, no one called for help, his father said.

"Nobody called the paramedics because they didn't want his parents or anybody to find out," Shapiro said.

By 7 a.m., Brent was turning blue. His fiancee called the paramedics and Brent was rushed to a hospital, where he was in a coma for one day before doctors pronounced him brain dead. Shapiro made the decision not to keep his son on life support.

Now, getting people to talk about drug addiction is one of Shapiro's greatest passions.

He will speak about drug addiction Monday at the Bellagio, where Gov. Kenny Guinn and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman will join him to kick off Sober Day USA, a drug abuse awareness and education effort.

The Brent Shapiro Foundation, which Shapiro started after his son's death, is promoting the 9:30 a.m. event.

In addition to Nevada, Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oregon have also declared May 1 as Sober Day. Shapiro hopes other states will follow.

"It's a day to show people they can have fun at parties without getting drunk and using drugs," Shapiro said.

The foundation will debut seven public service announcements that it has produced, each with the theme: "That's my story. What's your story?"

Shapiro and his wife are featured in some of the commercials telling Brent's story.

The idea, Shapiro said, is to get people talking about drug addiction.

"I am going to touch on the epidemic of drug use and drug abuse, on the fact that drug addiction is a disease, it's not a choice," he said.

"It affects one in every four people in America and it's the second largest killer in America right behind heart disease. I am going to talk about the need to communicate about this disease."

The Las Vegas event will be followed Monday night by a no-alcohol, no-drug, celebrity-laden party in Los Angeles at the Standard Hotel. Charlie Sheen, Paris Hilton, Tom Arnold, Ted Danson, Eva Longoria, Diana Ross, Nicole Richie, Nick Lachey, Lindsay Lohan, Brittany Murphy, Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz and dozens of other celebrities are expected, Shapiro said.

The bar will be serving "mocktails" such as the Pom Pilot, made with pomegranate juice.

Despite his son's death, Shapiro said he has not changed the way he handles drug cases in court.

"For everyone who has a drug issue - Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr., Darryl Strawberry - the message is the same," Shapiro said. "I don't want them to take the attitude that you are hiring a hired gun to beat the system in the courtroom."

Instead, he tells his clients that if they are willing to deal with the problem and get help, "I'll get the court system to support you."

Part of what Shapiro is trying to do is dismiss the kind of stigma around drugs that might have prevented his son from getting the help he needed the night of his death.

"This is a disease," he said. "Criminalizing a disease is not going to help anybody."