The ex-mayors of Vancouver have come together to take us higher.

Four of the last six: Larry Campbell, Sam Sullivan, Philip Owen and Mike Harcourt, are circulating a letter endorsing the legalization of marijuana, while current mayor Gregor Robertson has chirped up with a supporting tweet.

No word from former mayor Gordon Campbell, but as he already has a DUI on his record, he’ll probably keep a low profile on this one.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been quick to try and kill the buzz. Won’t happen on my watch, he said Friday, so it’s not time to fire up that celebratory spliff just yet. But when such an august assemblage gets the stone rolling, how long will it be before the estimated $7-billion B.C. bud industry goes legit along with other previously prohibited vices such as alcohol, gambling and pornography?

Not to mention tobacco, which despite costing the health-care system approximately $16 billion a year in direct and indirect costs, continues to be available at pharmacies?

None of this bothers the nation’s foremost hypocrite, who allowed the U.S. to kidnap pot advocate Marc Emery to rot in a federal pen, no doubt while enjoying a fine vintage intoxicant.

Of course, I never inhaled, but more than six million Canadians use marijuana. In fact, we smoke four times as much dope as the world average, ranking fifth behind such clear-headed jurisdictions as Ghana, Zambia, Papua New Guinea and Micronesia.

So while that genie may be a hallucination, it’s not going back into the bottle. Or the hookah.

What possible point could there be in turning 16.8 per cent of the population into criminals? Make no mistake, the Harper government is uncompromising on this front. When the omnibus crime bill passes into law, you will face a six-month mandatory sentence for growing six marijuana plants, and any dope-related violation will result in a police record – even if you’re not charged!

So raise a bong to Larry, Mike, Sam, Philip and Gregor. If you can gamble, smoke, drink and swear, you should be able to cultivate your own little patch of nirvana without going to jail for six months.

Of course, we have to make sure no one operates heavy equipment (such as a 747) while under the influence, and it should be just as hard to buy B.C. bud as it is to buy Players Plain or Smirnoff Ice.

Which is not very.

The bottom line is simple: Prohibition doesn’t work. Dude.