Here's the banned video of late Toronto mayor Rob Ford smoking crack

The publication ban has been lifted on beloved conservative hero and former mayor of Toronto Rob Ford smoking crack and babbling incoherently. He seems familiar with the use of a crack pipe.

From The Toronto Star:

Nothing apart from that illness - not documented substance abuse, or allegations of drunk driving, racism, homophobia or a lack of political control over council - kept Ford from mounting a real challenge to return to the mayor's chair in 2014.

He was never charged. He never testified. Those on the periphery of the whirling saga, like Lisi, who still declare loyalty to the late Ford, faced criminal charges. Ford's former staff and friends were interviewed by police and compelled to tell their version of the story under oath.

When news of the video's existence was first published by the Star and Gawker in May 2013, it soon reached nightly international talk show levels.

It's a video the late Ford tried to deny was real, facing an onslaught of questions as mayor of Canada's largest city. At first, Ford said he could not comment on a video "that I have never seen or does not exist."

Months later, Ford would admit to smoking crack (once, in one of his "drunken stupors").