DISAGREES WITH INTERPRETATION OF LAW

To the editor:

Deputy District Attorney Lisa Serafini says that Patrick McMahon's marijuana
"will not be returned even if 215 is a viable defense because federal law
prohibits possession or cultivation of marijuana." Law enforcement officials
of El Dorado County, as well as the county's voters, need to understand that
deputy district attorneys have sworn specifically to uphold California state
law, not federal law. Therefore, Serafini's statement does not hold water.

How do voters feel about a district attorney in El Dorado County, charged
with upholding state laws, who switches when it is convenient to do so in
order to enforce his narrow interpretation of the law? Is this the man they
want for DA?

Fortunately, there is an alternative next March, Dale Schafer himself.

Having survived a politically inspired DEA raid against him and his family,
Schafer knows how sacred the Fourth Amendment protections of the
Constitution are supposed to be. For patients in El Dorado County, Schafer
may be all that intervenes between them and the DEA after next March. One
thing: they certainly shouldn't trust the incumbent!

Ray Carlson

Redwood City, Calif.