Might Sarah Palin's sensible points about pot get Tea Party types to push for sensible drug reforms?

I have suggested to anyone who would listen that persons seriously interestes in drug sentencing reform should seriously urge folks like Sarah Palin and other tea-party-types to turn their anti-big-government sentiments toward the problems produced by big government involvement in the drug war.   Consequently, I was very pleased to see this new story from CBS News today, under the headline "Sarah Palin Calls Marijuana "Minimal Problem."  Here are the details:

That's right, pot smokers: You have something of an ally in Sarah Palin.

The former Alaska governor appeared on Fox Business Network last night, along with libertarian-leaning Republican Rep. Ron Paul. Paul is a longtime advocate of decriminalizing drugs at a federal level and leaving the issue to the states, something Palin would not endorse.

"If we're talking about pot, I'm not for the legalization of pot," Palin said, as Politico first noted. "I think that would just encourage especially our young people to think that it was OK to just go ahead and use it." But she went on to say that police should not focus on arresting people who use marijuana recreationally.

"I think we need to prioritize our law enforcement efforts," Palin said. "And if somebody's gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems that we have in society."

She added that marijuana use "relatively speaking" is a "minimal problem" in the country.

Palin has admitted to smoking when it was legal for personal use in Alaska, saying she "can't...say that I never inhaled." The state recriminalized the drug in 2006.

In the Fox Business interview, Paul said the federal government should get out of the war on drugs, calling it a "useless battle."

Some related Palin and pot posts:

• Green tea party: will Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin or other professed liberty lovers support ending pot prohibition in California?
• Should sentencing fans be excited about voters "throwing the bums out" of DC?
• "Sarah Palin, Marijuana Law Reformer?"
• "Legalizing marijuana not really a dopey idea"
• Is Governor Palin a real fan of jury nullification and pot decriminalization?
• What does the tea party movement have to say about taxing and spending on the death penalty, the drug war and mass incarceration?
• Did Sarah Palin or any others at the Tea Party Convention talk about pot prohibition or mass incarceration?
• Do "mama grizzlies" have a particular approach to crime and punishment issues?