The Canadian addiction expert responsible for establishing Bermuda's strategy against drug and alcohol abuse has died.

David Archibald was appointed Royal Commissioner to the Government of Bermuda for drug and alcohol strategies, spending years on the Island in the 1980s and early 90s and compiling two comprehensive reports on the subject.

He died "peacefully" on Sunday, at the age of 89.

His former executive officer Calvin Ming paid tribute to Dr. Archibald yesterday, calling the Second World War veteran "instrumental" in creating the framework for today's National Drug Commission.

Mr. Ming noted that Dr. Archibald helped establish Bermuda's first drug and alcohol legislation, the National Drug Commission Act. He added that the Ontario native had a common touch, often seeking feedback by approaching drug users in person.

"He could talk with kings and queens, and the man on the street, which he did while he was here," Mr. Ming said.

Dr. Archibald was a key figure in the international fight against drug abuse well before his arrival in Bermuda. A graduate of Yale University's School of Alcohol Studies, Dr. Archibald was sent to Thailand by the World Health Organisation in the 1970s to develop an opium crop substitution programme.

"He became an international figure in lowering the amount of heroin coming out of Thailand's 'golden triangle'," Mr. Ming said.

Dr. Archibald was the executive director of the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario, the founding chair of the Canadian Centre of Substance Abuse, and the chair of the International Council on Addictions.