The process to get medical marijuana from the ground to the hands of Alabamians who need it has begun. It involves many steps, which include certifying doctors to treat people with cannabis.According to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, there are currently more than 20 physicians across the state who have obtained the credentials to practice in central Alabama.But, before people can even get treatment from their doctor, the marijuana must be made available to sell.>> WVTM 13 ON-THE-GO: Download our app for freeAntoine Mordican has been working in his Jefferson County grow house for three years and says he finally has something to celebrate. He just made his first medical cannabis sale to a lab, which will process the plants into gummies, tinctures and oils.“The processor is our customer. So they buy the biomass from us, and then they use the biomass to make the end products, and then they sell it to the dispensaries and then dispensaries ultimately get it to the patients,” Mordican said.After years of investing time and money into his grow operation, Mordican has his first return on that investment, but he said that paycheck is already spoken for.“We got crazy debt that we need to make up. It’s a lot of debt to make up, but however, everything is manageable. I’m a small operator. I’m predominantly self-funded, so I handle a lot of the expenses myself. So the fact that we got some revenue to start satisfying the bills and things like that. That’s great,” Mordican said.As soon as he harvests one batch, Mordican plants another. He wants to be ready when the industry becomes fully operational. At that point, he expects there will be more physicians certified to recommend medical cannabis to patients legally able to buy it.>> YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: Community coverage from WVTM 13“The demand of Alabama is really going to dictate that. So as the industry continues to grow, we get more patients to sign up, we get more doctors to start making recommendations. We’ll ultimately see what the industry really needs in our goal to meet the demand and not to exceed the demand,” Mordican said.The first dispensary is expected to open in Montgomery on May 4, and Mordican said his cannabis will be in the first batch available to patients.The doctors in our area who are certified to treat patients with medical cannabis specialize in family and internal medicine, pain management and psychiatry.