Luckily, the mental image most people have of someone who smokes weed has changed significantly over the past few years. We used to only associate marijuana with the dopey stoner dude who sleeps in until noon and only eats things that come out of a crinkly bag, but our view has definitely expanded. For one, we're now more used to the fact that many women like to get high, too.

Could Canada Post become Canada Pot? The Crown corporation is desperately seeking new revenue sources, as mail volumes drop five per cent a year.

At the same time, the federal government is equally frantic in its hunt for income, as the economy slows.

The suggestion from producers of medicinal marijuana is that Canada Post be the initial distribution network for recreational cannabis, after pot is legalized by the new government.

Medicinal marijuana customer says it is "like going to the farmers' market"

Lisa Campbell, a 32-year-old medicinal marijuana patient, has used dispensaries for two years to treat pain and nausea.

Here’s what she had to say in a Q & A with the Sun:

How do you access marijuana?

“Mail order is a great way to get cannabis as well but going into the store, seeing your medicine, being able to smell it – it’s like going to a farmers' market and being able to pick out your own fruit.”

Why do you use dispensaries?

It’s a tough go for legal weed growers. Today, the Canadian federal medical cannabis system, or Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) is struggling to compete with the unregulated dispensary supply chain.

Despite often lower prices, the tightest quality assurance in the world, and the draw of being able to offer cannabis purchased legally under federal law, the MMPR has been stymied as dispensaries have flourished over the last 18 months.

Some estimates suggest that dispensaries serve around 300,000 Canadians who categorize their cannabis use as medical, while the MMPR only serves around 40,000.

When I asked Andy Nulman about the chances of legalized marijuana boosting tourism in Montreal, I had no idea that many years ago he'd written a script for a film called O Cannabis, about Canada legalizing pot and becoming "the new Saudia Arabia."

In the script, "farmers out in the Beauce and Manitoba and Saskatchewan become the new oil sheikhs, and (Canada) becomes this destination for stoners worldwide," Nulman said.

The co-founder of Just For Laughs and chief attention-grabber for 375MTL, the Society for the Celebrations of Montréal's 375th Anniversary, Nulman says he has not touched drugs in 40 years, and he's a vehement non-smoker. However, he has long considered the ripple effects of marijuana legalization.

As the federal government moves toward legalizing marijuana, Nunavummiut are divided about the impact that the move may have on their territory.

During last year's federal election campaign, the Liberals pledged to legalize pot, as several countries and U.S. states have done.

Pot smokers in Nunavut say it's great news.

"I smoke it on streets. I smoke it everywhere I want," says Corianna Manitok, 23. The Igloolik resident says she spends $2,000 per month on weed, but dreams of a cheaper buzz with legalization.

"It's kinda hard for the user to have an addiction like that and pay for what they have to eat," she said.

The Toronto Dispensary had a quiet opening in the neighbourhood last February,

It now provides medicinal marijuana to more than 1,000 patients for home consumption.

Along with glass canisters containing several varities of weed, three LCD screens on the wall list what’s on the menu including marijuana-infused fudge, cake pops and fizzy soft-drinks.

Before you get to the main showroom, you walk through the reception area with its calming grey walls where patients present their prescription and undergo an interview and a lounge area where family members of patients can watch TV or play Xbox - and in some cases, learn how to roll joints.

Dispensaries and LPs have the same goals, and the ideal system would include them both. They need to stop attacking each other and work on cooperating more...

The proliferation and general acceptance of over-the-counter cannabis dispensaries in Vancouver, Toronto, and elsewhere, is a sign that Canada has been ready for full cannabis legalization for quite some time. Canadians understand that using, growing, processing, and even selling cannabis – medical or otherwise – is neither inherently deviant nor immoral.

TORONTO  - 

They line up to see God at this dimly-lit emporium in the Church and Wellesley area — and then they go home and smoke it.

Before opening at 11 a.m., Toronto Dispensary operations manager Marina gingerly reaches into a safe and pulls out more than a dozen glass canisters filled with different types of green bud, mainly imported from British Columbia.

Each jar contains different strains of marijuana with funky names — LA Chocolate, Chemo, Purple Paralysis and, of course, the earthy-smelling God — and she places them in glass cabinets that her customers can peruse before purchasing.

The price for a gram is about $10 — or $225 for an ounce.

Canadians could soon be allowed to legally purchase marijuana and that has caught the attention of some law enforcement officers in Montana.

Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jim Sanderson said law enforcement across the state has seen an increase of marijuana in the state now that some nearby states have legalized the drug.

“We saw an immediate impact when Colorado legalized marijuana and we’ve seen the same with Washington and Oregon,” he said.