美国国家公共电台 NPR--People who use illegal drugs in New York City can now find out exactly what's in them

People who use illegal drugs in New York City can now find out exactly what's in them

Transcript¹

Overdose deaths have soared in recent years, in part to the rise of fentanyl. A pilot program uses spectrometry to tell users of illegal drugs what, exactly, is in the drugs they are planning to take.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

People who use illegal drugs in New York City can now find out exactly what's in them. That's thanks to a drug checking service being piloted by the city. Overdose deaths have soared in recent years, in part to the rise of fentanyl. But that isn't the only potentially dangerous or unexpected substance people might be consuming. WNYC Caroline Lewis takes us to one of the pilot sites. And just a warning, this story includes the sound of a person overdosing on drugs.

TAMMY HOGAN: I need help.

CAROLINE LEWIS, BYLINE²: On a Tuesday afternoon, a woman walks into OnPoint NYC, a center for drug users in Harlem, and tells staff her husband is overdosing on the sidewalk outside.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Go, go, go.

LEWIS: Staff rush through the crowded lounge to find the 65-year-old leaning on a lamp post, still conscious but struggling to walk.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: There we go. You see that condensation³ right there? That means he's breathing.

LEWIS: They get him in a comfortable chair with an oxygen mask and a pulse oximeter clipped to his finger. His wife, Tammy Hogan, is visibly shaken. She says he's been doing dope since he was a kid, but the drug supply has changed.

HOGAN: It's not heroin⁴ no more. There's something else in the drugs that they're cutting these drugs with. And I don't understand why they're doing that to people 'cause this is people's lives, man.

LEWIS: Hogan suspects her husband took fentanyl, but she wants to know for sure and wants to know the potency⁵ of the drugs he bought. Thanks to New York City's new drug checking program, that's easy to find out. This is just one of the services offered at this overdose prevention center, where people can also use illicit⁶ drugs under staff supervision⁷.

YARELIX ESTRADA: So if you look at the sample here, the red is the drug that was brought in, and then the blue is a reference.

LEWIS: In a tiny room off the side of the lounge, Yarelix Estrada from the city health department is demonstrating how to find out the contents of a drug sample using an infrared⁸ spectrometry machine, a device you would typically find in a lab.

ESTRADA: Caffeine is often found inside of these samples. Quinine is often found inside of these samples because it gives a similar taste and feeling of itchiness as heroin.

LEWIS: Estrada said some clients still think their drugs contain heroin, but increasingly, they're getting the more powerful opioid fentanyl mixed with other chemicals. A basic test strip could tell someone whether their drugs contain any trace of fentanyl at all. But for opioid users, Estrada says, it's often more helpful to know how much.

ESTRADA: There's a lot of folks that are buying things off the street under the assumption that they know what's in it, but they actually don't know and then have adverse⁹ reactions because of it in some situations.

LEWIS: Fentanyl isn't the only concerning substance that pops up in the illicit drug supply. The drug checking program recently confirmed the presence of xylazine, an animal sedative¹⁰ that can be dangerous for humans. That discovery led the city health department to send out an alert to programs that serve drug users so they would know how to handle it. But the first priority is to inform individuals about what they're taking. Estrada recalled testing a bag of cocaine¹¹ and finding that it was mixed with a pain reliever that has been outlawed¹² in the U.S. because it's associated with kidney disease. She said the client already had kidney problems and was open to talking about their drug use.

ESTRADA: So being able to have that more in-depth conversation about, like, their long-term health goals and potentially changing the supply or things like that.

LEWIS: Studies of similar programs show that when someone finds out their drugs contain something unexpected, they're more likely to use less of it or change their behavior in some other way rather than throw the drugs out. But these programs can still play a role in making drug use safer. Terrence Jones, who works at OnPoint NYC, said even dealers¹³ have used the service on occasion.

TERRENCE JONES: I think people have just this notion that home drug dealers don't care. Drug dealers are trying to get money. They ain't trying to go to jail for homicide, you know what I'm saying?

LEWIS: Drug checking programs using sophisticated technology have recently started popping up in other parts of the U.S., including Massachusetts and North Carolina. Sheila Vakharia of the national Drug Policy Alliance said the biggest barriers to launching more of these programs are time and money. The machines used in New York cost about $40,000 and require significant training to use. But she also worried they could eventually face the type of backlash that has hampered¹⁴ some other harm reduction services, such as syringe exchanges.

SHEILA VAKHARIA: There are a lot of really challenging conversations happening, and the backlash is mounting.

LEWIS: But these programs are already starting to give public health officials and drug users themselves valuable insights into the rapidly changing drug supply.

For NPR News, I'm Caroline Lewis in New York.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 condensation   

n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠

参考例句：

• A cloud is a condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.云是由大气中的水蒸气凝结成的。
• He used his sleeve to wipe the condensation off the glass.他用袖子擦掉玻璃上凝结的水珠。

4 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

5 potency   

n. 效力，潜能

参考例句：

• Alcohol increases the drug's potency.酒精能增加这种毒品的效力。
• Sunscreen can lose its potency if left over winter in the bathroom cabinet.如果把防晒霜在盥洗室的壁橱里放一个冬天，就有可能失效。

6 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

7 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

8 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

9 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

10 sedative   

adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西

参考例句：

• After taking a sedative she was able to get to sleep.服用了镇静剂后，她能够入睡了。
• Amber bath oil has a sedative effect.琥珀沐浴油有镇静安神效用。

11 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

12 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

13 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

14 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。