Sarah Palin on Drugs Republican Governor (AK); 2008 nominee for Vice President

Highway fatalities down because of strict drunk driving laws

Opposes legalizing marijuana, but meth is greater threat

Palin doesn't support legalizing marijuana, worrying about the message it would send to her four kids. But when it comes to cracking down on drugs, she says methamphetamines are the greater threat and should have a higher priority.

Smoked marijuana when it was legal under Alaska law

Top priorities include gangs & drugs; they harm family life

A: 1. Creating an atmosphere where parents feel welcome to choose the venues of education for their children.
2. Preserving the definition of "marriage" as defined in our constitution.
3. Cracking down on the things that harm family life: gangs, drug use, and infringement of our liberties including attacks on our 2nd Amendment rights.

Questions cruise ship gambling, under casino gambling ban

Palin worried about the law's new tax on gambling while ships are in state waters. "Currently casino gambling is prohibited in Alaska. So what are we getting ourselves into?" Palin also asked.

Though she didn't say how she would do it, Palin told the ATIA she would work with the tourism industry to "mitigate some of the impacts" from the new law. Knowles spokeswoman Patty Ginsburg said Friday that her boss supported taxing the cruise industry but he was unhappy with the law's other provisions.

Maintain alcohol sale database; bar giving alcohol to minors

The Governor also signed House Bill 118, sponsored by Representative Kevin Meyer. The bill closes a gap in statute by making it a non-criminal violation to permit underage people to possess alcohol in your home. Under current law (AS 04.16.050), a parent who allows their own child to possess alcohol is not subject to the violation because they are allowed to provide alcohol to their children. Under HB 118 however, a person throwing a party where an underage person possesses alcohol, even if they were not responsible for providing the alcohol, would face a $500 fine.

Rejected making Wasilla bars close earlier than 5 AM

But barely anything like that exists in Wasilla. You certainly can have a great time swigging beer in two bars that are allowed to stay open until 5 AM. It was Mayor Palin who rejected attempts to make them close earlier. (If Palin had completely had her way, in fact, you could have sidled up to the bar with a gun.)

For all that, Wasilla is not a bad place. Rather, it's an unexceptional, gritty town, bisected by a four-lane highway where used-car lots sit next to fast-food joints next to pawn shops.

1996: Allow Wasilla bars to stay open until 5 AM

You'd think an evangelical Christian mother such as Sarah would have agreed. You'd be wrong. The bar owners argued that the hours between 2 AM and 5 AM were particularly lucrative and that city government didn't have the right to interfere with free enterprise. Sarah wholeheartedly agreed. She saw the bill that would mandate a 2 AM closing as a classic example of government interference with personal freedom.