The inevitable appears to have happened. The naysayers predicted it would come to this: an authorized medical marijuana grower; a surprise inspection; discovery of procedural lapses reminiscent of a 1970s Cheech & Chong “Up in Smoke” comedy. (“Please display your authorization papers. No, not those papers!”)

But this is not a comedy, no laughing matter. Medical marijuana is a serious, state-regulated enterprise generating millions of dollars in state revenue. If we mess this up, we kill a golden goose.

In a news release issued a week ago, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said it conducted a surprise inspection of AGRiMED Industries of PA, LLC, a licensed marijuana grower in Carmichaels, Greene County. That’s in the southwest corner of the state.

The news release says the Health Department inspector found “numerous violations” at AGRiMED, which has been in operation for only 16 months.

AGRiMED was licensed in June 2017 to grow and process marijuana. The company has been cultivating and harvesting its unique strains of the herb since February 2018, but its processing equipment is not operational, so it has not been able to process or ship medication for sale at dispensaries.

Plants that cannot be processed are supposed to be destroyed, according to the Health Department release. There are supposed to be time-stamped video recordings of the plants being destroyed, too.

The surprise inspection revealed that AGRiMED was not keeping any record of plants being destroyed, either paper files or video evidence of the marijuana destruction.

In other words, something else might have happened to these prize strains of marijuana.

The repercussions should be obvious and enormous. A state-sanctioned grower keeping inaccurate record of its production of bushels of a powerful drug is capable of dark deals and prone to soft security standards. Accountability does not exist.

Consider too AGRiMED’s proximity to the West Virginia and Ohio state lines and a moonshine tradition overshadowing the tri-state region.

“Lapses in security cannot and will not be tolerated,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine declares in the news release, adding: “Patients and communities are relying on us to ensure their medication is grown and processed in a safe, secure location, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

It’s even more serious when we’re reminded that virtually anyone can cultivate marijuana in Pennsylvania’s fertile soil and temperate climate. The realization underscores the crucial point that if the state is to prosper as sole purveyor and provider of medical and/or recreational marijuana, it must protect its monopoly. It does so chiefly by maintaining the highest standards for production, quality and security of its product; and by challenging the validity of all competitors.

AGRiMED has been placed under a cease and desist order prohibiting the company from removing anything from the marijuana plants outside the presence of a department inspector. It also is prohibited from turning off security equipment at any time without written authorization from the department. Maybe this is punishment enough since the order renders the licensee incapable of recovering its investment.

Then again, a suspension or fine might be considered good form — a warning to all marijuana growers in Pennsylvania that lapses in security cannot and will not be tolerated.