House Speaker David Ralston says he supports medical marijuana cultivation in Georgia, that there are still questions surrounding legalizing casino gambling in the state, and that the state’s rural hospitals are facing serious funding problems.

He shared those thoughts at a pre-session press conference last week. You can find Ralston’s extended opinions on those issues below.

On the questions surrounding legalizing casino gambling in the state:

“There’s a couple of questions that are involved in that discussion. One is the policy question of do we want to change what we allow in terms of our constitutional prohibition on gambling to allow casinos and/or horse racing. That’s not an easy question, but it’s a simple question, because it’s the black and white question. Then the really complex question becomes: ‘How do you implement a decision to expand?’ Then you have questions of: ‘How many licences do you issue?’ ‘What would the tax rate be?’ ‘What would the regulatory scheme be?’ So, there’s some really detailed things involved there that are going to have to be sorted out.”

On whether he supports Rep. Allen Peake’s bill that would allow for medical marijuana cultivation in Georgia:

“At least my expectation--I think that of most people around here--was when we passed HB 1 last year that there would have to be a next step, and so I think this bill is that next step. I’m not a doctor, and I’m not a medical professional, so I don’t know all the conditions that should be listed on there. I probably have had a half dozen suggested to me since we left here last year from people in my district, friends, people as I traveled around the state. Some of them are unbelievable in terms of the suggested conditions we should add. My view is that at some point we’re going to need to let those decisions be made by medical professionals, and I’m fine doing that. I’m fine putting in a provision in a cultivation bill that will allow the conditions to be determined not by the General Assembly but by medical professionals who have the expertise to do that.”

On funding rural hospitals in Georgia:

“It’s a challenge. I have a hospital in my district that’s barely hanging on, and unfortunately that’s a fairly common situation in rural Georgia. We’re looking at different things that hopefully we can use. One of the reasons I hope a member of my party is elected president in November is I hope we can look at some block granting some of the Medicaid money through the waiver process to help in that area. I know the Georgia Chamber of Commerce has commissioned a study over the next few months to look at some specific solutions. I mean, it’s a real problem, a very real problem that I see everyday and one that troubles me very much. We’ve got to find a way to deal with that.”

The 2016 legislative session starts Monday.

Tags: David Raslton;Georgia General Assembly; medical marijuana; casino gambling; Medicaid