Toronto mayor Ford finds rehab 'amazing,' paper reports

[May 08, 2014]  TORONTO (Reuters) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who said last month he would take time off to get treatment for an alcohol problem, described rehab as "amazing" and said he would return in time for the upcoming city election, a Toronto newspaper reported on Wednesday.

In an interview with the Toronto Sun, Ford said going into treatment was the "best decision" he has ever made.

"I feel great," Ford said. "Rehab is amazing. It reminds me of football camp. Kind of like the Washington Redskins camp I went to as a kid."

He didn't name the treatment center or say where it was located.

Ford gained global notoriety last year after he admitted he had smoked crack, bought illegal drugs and driven after drinking, but refused to step down or seek treatment.

The mayor took a leave of absence from his job and re-election campaign last week after the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that a new video showed Ford using what appeared to be drugs.
 

Ford's exact whereabouts were not known after media reports last week said Ford withdrew an application to enter the United States after landing in Chicago.

His decision to seek treatment comes after months of denials that he has a substance-abuse problem and nearly a year after media reports surfaced about Ford appearing in a video smoking crack cocaine.

Ford told the paper he would be on the ballot for mayor in October and predicted he would do well, though he didn't say when exactly he would return.

"Of course, I am coming back and I am going to kick butt," he said.

"There will be no need to clean out my office because I am coming back."

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Bernadette Baum)

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