From a 1930s propaganda film calling it "the burning weed with its roots in hell" to massive companies such as Coca Cola and Molson now looking to cash in on the emerging marijuana market, attitudes towards the drug have shifted dramatically over the past century.

Those social norms are soon likely to change again as Canada prepares to become the second in the world to legalize recreational pot use next month.

"We need to have the discussion about how are we going to influence our society, not with the law and with administrative controls, but with our social norms," Mark Haden, a population professor at the University of British Columbia told CTV News as part of the "Going Green" series.

"We need to find a way that integrates cannabis while minimizing the harms for us."

Pot use in public

Even though pot won't be legal until Oct. 17, there are already more dispensaries than Tim Hortons restaurants in Vancouver, but that doesn’t mean we're ready to accept open use.

"When you're walking downtown, you can smell it everywhere," one woman told CTV.

For now, laws will limit public marijuana use to accepted tobacco smoking areas, but will walking down the street with a joint ever be socially acceptable?

"We need to develop social norms around cannabis use (which) we haven't done yet. You don't walk down the street holding a beer. That is our social norm—unacceptable behaviour," Haden said.

"Public use will be frowned upon, should be frowned upon, but maybe you want to have some special areas such as beaches, concerts—so some outdoor use. Some public use is acceptable."

And with tight quarters in stratas, don't be surprised if residential smoking bylaws are strictly enforced.

Experts say that could lead to legislated exceptions such as Amsterdam-style coffee shops that allow marijuana use.

"There should be clubs where people can go to smoke it in facilities like cannabis use clubs, not that dissimilar from bars," Haden said. "You want to separate them out. You don't want cannabis use with alcohol."

Weed in the workplace

Most us wouldn't drink alcohol on the job, but will the same expectations apply when it comes to pot?

"It's definitely something employers are concerned about," employment lawyer Hilary Henley told CTV. "I think in some ways, it will be quite similar to alcohol."

But employers' concerns could extend beyond what happens during work hours.

"It depends what the concern of the employer is," Henley said. "If someone is talking about being a big fan of cannabis, an employer might be entitled to say, 'We're a conservative business and we have codes of conduct and your public social media is bringing a shroud of disrepute that could be an issue.'

"It's all about image and employers are always going to be looking to protect their image."

Some, however, say that once marijuana is legal, their bosses shouldn't have a say on their consumption.

"If my boss has a problem, I wouldn't want to work for someone like that," one man told CTV.

Ganga-tainment goes mainstream

Personal consumption aside, it seems likely that virtually all Canadians will be exposed to media and entertainment that normalizes marijuana use.

Netflix's "Cooking on High," for example, is being billed as "the first-even competitive cannabis cooking show."

And with companies such as Molson and Coca Cola looking to get into the soon-to-be-legal pot industry, TV and internet ads promoting cannabis products could soon be on their way too.

Haden said it's important to balance such commercialization with a public health approach that emphasizes safe, responsible use of the drug.

"I hope it isn't totally dominated by the commercial voice. I hope it isn't big money that comes in and moves and takes over," he said.

"I really hope the voice of public health is heard here, and the voice of public health is all about regulation and control and understanding how social norms do influence behaviour and how… we influence those is really the question we need to ask."

With files from CTV Vancouver's Penny Daflos