美国国家公共电台 NPR An Even Deadlier Opioid, Carfentanil, Is Hitting The Streets

An Even Deadlier Opioid, Carfentanil, Is Hitting The Streets  

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Ohio has declared a public health emergency. It's a response to the latest phase of the opioid epidemic². NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports on a new drug that's being abused, a substance generally used to tranquilize elephants.

JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE³: The synthetic⁴ drug is called carfentanil. And here's how bad it is. It is 100 times more potent⁵ than fentanyl, the painkiller⁶ that led to the death of the pop star Prince. And fentanyl can be up to 50 times more deadly than heroin⁷. Now, often unknown to addicts⁸, carfentanil is being sold on American streets. It's either mixed into heroin or pressed into pills that look like prescription⁹ drugs.

TOM SYNAN: Instead of having four or five overdoses in a day, you're having these 20, 30, 40 - maybe even 50 - overdoses in a day.

LUDDEN: Police Chief Tom Synan directs the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition¹⁰. He says carfentanil turned up in Cincinnati in July. And at times, the overdoses have overwhelmed first responders.

SYNAN: Their efforts are truly heroic - to be going from call to call to call. One district alone has seen 14 in one shift. So they were nonstop.

LUDDEN: Carfentanil is even dangerous to someone who simply touches or inhales¹¹ it. First responders and emergency room workers are being told to wear protective gloves and masks. Hamilton County health Commissioner¹² Tim Ingram says there's another challenge. Users stay high far longer than with other opioids.

TIM INGRAM: For the body to metabolize carfentanil, it takes about eight hours.

LUDDEN: That means when someone overdoses, it's more difficult to revive them to save their life with naloxone. That's the emergency medication used to block the effects of opioids.

INGRAM: Right now, we're actually looking to put a more concentrated version of naloxone on the streets because we've been getting lots of reports that they're using two or three doses to get people to come back.

LUDDEN: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says carfentanil is coming from two places.

RUSS BAER: China and Mexico.

LUDDEN: DEA spokesman Russ Baer says Mexican drug traffickers see big profits, since it only takes a granule or so to induce a high. He says the carfentanil sold on streets is made in labs in China.

BAER: You can go on the internet. And anybody can establish an anonymous¹³ account. And you can order carfentanil directly from China. And we're seeing it shipped from China directly into the United States.

INGRAM: You know, it seems to me now that this might be a pivot¹⁴ point.

LUDDEN: Hamilton County health Commissioner Ingram says, why would anyone take the trouble to grow poppies in order to make heroin when something as powerful as this can be made in a lab?

INGRAM: We may be seeing more and more synthetic opioids from this point forward. And we're going to have to prepare for it.

LUDDEN: Ohio police Chief Tom Synan thinks that should include tougher penalties. Generally, he says, selling drugs on the street is considered a non-violent crime. But that may not make sense if the drug includes carfentanil.

SYNAN: To me, that's just like pulling a gun out and shooting someone because you know that a tiny bit can kill a person. So to me, it's intentional¹⁵. It's murder.

LUDDEN: It can take months to identify a drug. But carfentanil is suspected in overdose spikes¹⁶ across the Midwest and in Florida. The DEA says communities everywhere should be on alert. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 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。

4 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

5 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

6 painkiller   

n.止痛药

参考例句：

• I shall persuade him to take the painkiller.我将说服他把药吃下去。
• The painkiller only provides him a short respite from his pain.止痛药仅仅让他在疼痛中有短暂的疏解。

7 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。

8 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

9 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 inhales   

v.吸入( inhale的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Long, slow, full breaths with exhales at least as long as the inhales. 深长、缓慢、充分的呼吸，呼气至少要同吸气一样长。 来自互联网
• An impressive pile forms. Heywood bends down and inhales deeply, smelling the aroma. Rapture. 一小排香烟。海沃德低下头使劲地闻着香烟的气味，高兴不已。 来自互联网

12 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

13 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

14 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

15 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

16 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》