TORONTO – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will take a leave of absence to seek help for substance abuse, his lawyer said Wednesday, as a report surfaced about a second video of the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported it has viewed a second video of Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine in his sister’s basement. The national newspaper reported two Globe reporters viewed the video from a self-professed drug dealer showing Ford taking a drag from a pipe early Saturday morning.
Additional Photos
The video is part “of a package of three videos the dealer said was surreptitiously filmed around 1:15 a.m., and which he says he is now selling for ‘at least six figures,”’ the paper reported.
News reports of the existence of an earlier video of Ford apparently smoking crack first surfaced last May, igniting a media firestorm around Ford.
The latest crack tape report comes as Ford’s lawyer, Dennis Morris, said the mayor will take a leave of absence for substance abuse. Ford is seeking re-election in the Oct. 27 vote.
Morris said he spoke to Ford earlier Wednesday and said Ford has accepted that he has a problem.
“He acknowledges he has a substance abuse problem and he wants to do something about it,” Morris told The Associated Press.
Ford, who launched his campaign for re-election earlier this year, acknowledged last year after months of denials that he smoked crack in a “drunken stupor” after police said they obtained a video that appears to show him smoking crack. The video has never been released to the public.
Ford has careened from one scandal to another, becoming a national embarrassment for many Canadians.
Also on Wednesday, The Toronto Sun reported that it obtained an audio recording of Ford making offensive remarks about other politicians at a bar on Monday night.
Ford has refused to resign, despite mounting pressure after a string of incidents, from public drunkenness to an appearance in another video that showed him threatening “murder” in an incoherent rant. Toronto’s city council has stripped him of most of his powers.
Ford said last year that he quit drinking alcohol after having a “come to Jesus moment” but later acknowledged that he drank again. A number of recordings of the mayor intoxicated have surfaced since.
Ford acknowledged “rocky moments over the past year” during his official campaign launch earlier this month but vowed to fight harder than ever to win re-election.
Ford, who was the first to register as a candidate in January, invoked the spirit of second chances during a speech in front of supporters.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.