code: def get_module_path(module_name):
      
      path = sys.path
      for name in module_name.split('.'):
          file_pointer, path, desc = imp.find_module(name, path)
          path = [path, ]
          if file_pointer is not None:
              file_pointer.close()
  
      return path[0]
docs: Gets the module path without importing anything.
  
      Avoids conflicts with package dependencies.
      (taken from http://github.com/sitkatech/pypatch)