MPP SAID 'YES' TO DRUGS

Health Minister Admits '90s Stimulant Use

TORONTO -- Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman said he hopes
the revelation he was addicted to street drugs in the 1990s will help
others struggling with substance abuse.

"There is something better on the other side," he said.

"I hope there are some people out there who can read that story and
it can help put their situation in a better perspective and give them
a little bit more power to charge through it."

Speaking in London yesterday, Smitherman made his first public
appearance since revealing he was addicted to illegal drugs for five
years and used them regularly in Toronto's party scene.

'Feels Right'

He first talked publicly about his drug use at this week's Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health Courage to Come Back Awards, where others
described their struggles.

"It feels right in my bones; I feel good by the decision," he said.

Smitherman, Ontario's first openly gay cabinet minister, said he
hadn't spoken to Premier Dalton McGuinty since the story broke. He
said Opposition leader John Tory sent him a supportive note.

McGuinty said yesterday he's proud of his health minister for coming
clean about his drug use.

"I hope that he will serve as an inspiration to others in Ontario and
wherever else who find themselves in the grip of a drug addiction,"
McGuinty said.

Smitherman has declined to say what drugs he used, but he said he has
been free of drugs for 10 years.