Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to seek substance abuse treatment

TORONTO — The lawyer for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says Ford will take a leave of absence to seek help for substance abuse.

Dennis Morris, Ford’s lawyer, said Wednesday night that Ford acknowledges he has a substance abuse problem and he wants to do something about it.

Ford, who is seeking re-election in the October election, 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. News reports of the crack video’s existence first surfaced last May, igniting a media firestorm around Ford. He careened from one scandal to another, becoming a national embarrassment for many Canadians.