The statement, written largely by his wife and sent to reporters by fax, spoke of the danger of "spiritual relapse" and invoked the 12-step doctrine of the Narcotics Anonymous program. Then Marion Barry, the flamboyant mayor of Washington, D.C., abruptly took indefinite personal leave to seek what he called "spiritual and physical rejuvenation." Given Barry's history, the use of the word "relapse" was arguably a poor choice: it has been only five years since the mayor was videotaped smoking crack during an FBI sting at a downtown hotel. And so it was understandable when the rumors began to fly-that Barry was back on drugs, that he had been caught by the DEA in the act of buying coke outside a restaurant in Adams-Morgan, that he had recently tried to commit suicide.
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