Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted he tried smoking crack cocaine on once last year during a "drunken stupor" after denying allegations he had been caught on video smoking from a glass crack pipe, the Associated Press reported.
Ford, who at the beginning of the scandal said he never tried drugs and that the alleged video of him smoking crack did not exist, told reporters outside his office on Tuesday: "Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine."
"There have been times when I've been in a drunken stupor,"he said. "That's why I want to see the tape. I want everyone in the city to see this tape. I don't even recall there being a tape or video. I want to see the state that I was in."
Ford told reporters, intensifying the demand for his resignation.
Ford, who has been constantly criticized and made headlines due to his bizarre actions, stepped out of his office and asked reporters to ask him "the question you asked me last may," to which reporters obliged and asked him if he has ever smoked crack, again.
Ford then acknowledged he had.
"Am I an addict? No. Have I tried it, probably in one of my drunken stupors a year ago," he said.
Police obtained the video which allegedly shows Ford smoking from a pipe on the floor during the course of a drug investigation against Ford's friend and occasional driver, Alexander Lisi, according to the AP. Police spokesman Mark Pugush reiterated the video did not provide enough evidence to charge the mayor, but his recent confession will be passed on to investigators.
According to Canada municipal law, the mayor cannot be forcefully removed from office unless he is convicted and jailed for an offense, and although Ford admitted to using drugs, he continued to insist he would not resign, the AP reported.
A member of Ford's executive committee, City Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong, said he would immediately put forward a motion for Ford's leave of absence, according to the AP.
Jaye Robinson, another Councilor, agreed and stated the mayor should step down and work on his personal problems, adding Toronto has "become a laughing stock of North America, if not the world," the AP reported.
After his announcement, Ford told the Toronto Sun he felt like he needed to "say it" adding, "I feel like I got 1,000 pounds off my back."
