I think it'll just become another division of Marlboro and be grown with their tobacco crops in unison. Perhaps in greenhouses to reduce pollination and have finite control of the elements. Bet it'll be dank as hell too. It's not like us closet growers know better than scientists.
Legalization is definitely not what we want as the market will flood in a matter of months. Grows like a weed.
Are you a tobacco smoker? I'm not, but I know the difference between the garbage rolled into Marlboros and a good cigar- and let me assure you, they'll grow weed under 'lowest possible cost' conditions, which as any scientist will tell you is a far cry from ideal conditions. So much for the american grown quality argument.
Moving on to the idea that China will treat our weed with respect; this is laughable if you remember that they've been repeatedly caught painting children's toys with lead paint, poisoned our pets with deadly additives in petfood, and that they have and continue to sell foodstuffs laced with heavy metals, PCBs and pesticides to their own people, as well as for export. Do you seriously expect them to treat weed any better?
I agree that if full and unfettered legalization comes we'll all be out of a job but I'm not worried about it happening any time soon, if at all. For context, remember that it's still illegal to manufacture alcoholic spirits for commercial sale without navigating a thicket of rules and regulations, which vary wildly from one jurisdiction to another.
"Think globally, grow locally."