Michael Hartmann, a well-known German MP, has admitted to using crystal methamphetamine while in office, but only because he wanted to improve his performance.

The 51-year-old confessed to taking a small amount of the drug in a bid to be a better MP after police raided his home, The Times reported.

In a statement issued through his lawyers, Mr Hartmann apologised for ‘‘low level’’ use of the illegal stimulant, joining a growing list of disgraced politicians who’ve had to make public confessions about their drug-taking past.

In various German media reports on his confession, Mr Hartmann has either explained away his ice-taking as a misplaced plan at greater efficiency or a drive for better performance in the workplace, which occurred during a brief one-month period in late 2013.

Both The Times and The Local, an English-language newspaper in Germany, have reported Mr Hartmann’s drug-use explanation as an effort at increasing his ‘‘performance’’ as a politician while German’s respected Die Zeit newspaper described it as an efficiency bid.

A Google translation of his lawyer’s statement reads: ‘‘Without wishing to excuse his misconduct, he explains it by saying that he hoped at that time to be more efficient by drug use.’’

The Social Democratic Party MP, who insists he is not addicted to the drug, has not been charged with an offence and is refusing to resign. Police had apparently spotted him buying drugs, triggering the raid on his home last week, which failed to find any of the illegal substance.

The incident makes him the latest political player to be caught up in a drugs scandal.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford returned to work last week after a well-publicised stint in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.

After months of denial, Mr Ford finally admitted to smoking crack cocaine during one of his ‘‘drunken stupors’’ while in office. He’s now planning on running for re-election in October.

If he wins, he'll be the second crack-smoking politician in North America to find redemption at the polling booth.

In the US, Marion Barry was re-elected as Washington DC’s mayor in 1995 after being caught smoking crack in an FBI sting. Mr Barry, however, has resisted comparisons between himself and Mr Ford.

Other US politicians have struggled to explain their dabblings in drugs when hitting the campaign trail.

US President Barack Obama admitted to smoking pot during his younger days, but recently laughed off the opportunity to do it again while visiting a bar in Colorado, where recreational marijuana use has been legalised.

It’s come a long way since 1992, when Bill Clinton, during his first US presidential election campaign, stated that he "didn’t inhale" when asked about his past marijuana use.