Puerto Rican majority whip resigns over drug detection

A member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives has resigned after drug detection procedures revealed he had used cocaine.

Ronaldo Crespo was found to have tested positive for the illegal substance during a mandatory check for all legislators.

Following disclosure of the test results, Crespo announced on Friday (February 25th) that he would step down from his position as majority whip.

"Sadly I made a mistake, that though isolated, forces me to resign because it is my responsibility to my party, to my family but mostly to my constituents that I step down," the Associated Press reports him as saying.

He denied a reliance on the drug, stating rather that his use of cocaine was a one-time incident.

Crespo's statement came after it was revealed two days earlier by officials that his drug detection check had not been clean.

Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth associated with the US.