--- description: The Toronto mayor informed his attorney on Wednesday that he would be taking a leave from his campaign to seek help for substance abuse title: Rob Ford: Toronto's Crack Mayor Takes Leave to Address Substance Abuse image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Seeks Help for Substance Abuse by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 1, 2014 3:48 AM CUT by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 1, 2014 3:48 AM CUT _Updated 12:45 p.m. ET on May 1_ Notorious crack-smoking Toronto Mayor Rob Ford [is taking a break from the campaign trail](http://www.thestar.com/news/city%5Fhall/2014/04/30/mayor%5Frob%5Fford%5Fto%5Ftake%5Fbreak%5Ffrom%5Fmayoral%5Felection%5Fto%5Fget%5Fhelp.html "undefined") to seek help for substance abuse problems, his attorney said Wednesday. Ford’s time out comes after an [audio recording](http://www.torontosun.com/2014/04/30/mayor-rob-ford-ready-to-take-a-break "undefined") (warning: offensive language) purportedly of him at a local bar surfaced earlier this week, where he can be heard being “unruly” and making offensive comments about mayoral contender Karen Stintz. The unverified recording is the latest such incident in the mayor’s infamous record of being belligerent and spouting off in a drunken and/or drug-fueled stupor. “It’s not easy to be vulnerable and this is one of the most difficult times in my life,” Ford said in a statement Wednesday. “I have a problem with alcohol, and the choices I have made while under the influence. I have struggled with this for some time.” “He’s doing what I think most of the population thought would be appropriate a number of months ago. At that time he didn’t think he should, and now I think he realizes, so that’s a good step,” Ford’s lawyer Dennis Morris told the Toronto _Star_. While Ford’s attorney did not unveil the specifics of the treatment he would seek, the 44-year-old’s admission that he struggles with substance abuse comes after many months of [denying he has a problem](http://world.time.com/2013/11/14/toronto-city-council-to-crack-mayor-please-step-down/ "undefined"). “I think the public realizes that he may face certain substance abuse problems and was not admitting to them. Finally admitting to a problem is the first step to rehabilitation,” Morris said. Although Ford has largely been stripped of most formal powers he once possessed as mayor, he launched his reelection campaign [two weeks ago](http://www.torontosun.com/2014/04/17/rivals-take-shots-at-rob-ford-ahead-of-mayors-campaign-launch "undefined") promising he wouldn’t “back down.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/"},"headline":"Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Seeks Help for Substance Abuse","datePublished":"2014-05-01T03:48:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:35:50.462Z","description":"The Toronto mayor, who admitted he smoked crack, will step away from a re-election campaign and seek help for substance abuse, after a new recording surfaced that allegedly captures Ford at a bar making offensive remarks about mayoral contender Karen Stintz","url":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/","keywords":["Drugs","Canada","Rob Ford","Toronto"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/","name":"Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Seeks Help for Substance Abuse"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Rob Ford ‘Ready To Take A Break’ And Seek Substance Abuse After New Video Emerges","description":"Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he’ll take a break from his re-election campaign and seek substance abuse help. The decision came just minutes before The Globe And Mail released images from a video of the embattled mayor purportedly smoking crack again.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4Mc4BmaP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-01T17:30:17.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4Mc4BmaP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/","duration":"PT2M15S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Most Outrageous Rob Ford Moments","description":"The Best Of Rob Ford","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Op3scdcP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-11-14T21:23:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Op3scdcP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/","duration":"PT4M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/83711/rob-for-substance-abuse/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```