美国国家公共电台 NPR Some States Say Declaring An Emergency Has Helped In The Opioid Fight

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

President Trump¹ is turning his attention to the nation's opioid crisis. He spoke² yesterday laying out plans to step up law enforcement.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Federal drug prosecutions³ have gone down in recent years. We're going to be bringing them up and bringing them up graphically⁴.

CORNISH: Meanwhile, a White House commission studying the opioid epidemic⁵ recommends a different approach, framing the issue as a public health crisis focused on prevention and treatment. We wanted to know what this all means for states navigating⁶ the issue, so we reached out to Dr. Cara Christ. She's the director of Arizona's Department of Health Services. Her state had almost 800 opioid-related deaths last year, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency. I asked Dr. Christ how she and her department are approaching the situation.

CARA CHRIST: I think what the health care community and public health community is trying to do, especially in Arizona, is to reverse the stigma⁷ associated with drug addiction⁸. This is a chronic⁹ health condition. Opioid use disorder¹⁰ is just like any other chronic disease - like diabetes¹¹, like hypertension - and needs to be treated in the same manner.

There is treatment available. There are providers that are experts in treating this disease. And we don't want people to feel afraid of going and seeking help and calling in the middle of an emergency. You wouldn't hesitate in calling when someone has a heart attack. You should call when somebody has a drug overdose and help that friend or loved one get into treatment.

CORNISH: I know public health officials for a long time have talked about trying to reduce the stigma around opioid abuse in order for people to be more comfortable to come forward to get treatment. But do you think that's happening? Is that the direction you see the national conversation going?

CHRIST: So we did a survey, and 4 out of 10 people surveyed actually had a loved one or a friend that was addicted¹² to painkillers¹³ or opioids. And we know that our communities are so interconnected now that even if you don't have a personal relationship, you're going to be impacted at your workplace, on your roadways, at your children's school. And I think as people are starting to see how prevalent this is, I think we are starting to change the stigma associated with this epidemic.

CORNISH: I grew up with the Say No To Drugs campaign (laughter) and with law enforcement and law and order being an important component¹⁴ to fighting the crack and cocaine¹⁵ epidemic. Are we seeing the same thing happen here, where there's being - where there's going to be renewed emphasis on the law enforcement part of dealing¹⁶ with the drug epidemic?

CHRIST: I think law enforcement plays a part when you're dealing with the illegal supply of drugs. I think what's so challenging about the opioid epidemic in the United States is that most people never intended to try what they consider to be an illicit¹⁷ drug. These were drugs that were started as being prescribed by their physician to treat pain or a medical condition or after surgery. And we know that 4 out of 5 new heroin¹⁸ users started as prescription¹⁹ drug users. So we really need to work with our health care providers to prevent people from becoming dependent and addicted on these medications.

CORNISH: What's your response to people who say, I've been hearing about this as a crisis for a couple years now? And people keep saying, we need more treatment. We need more help. But there are people out there who are listening who think maybe we just need to step in, to be more aggressive about prosecutions and cracking down.

CHRIST: You know, I think that this has been a longtime crisis that has been building over decades. And so I think it's going to take us a while to work our way back out of this issue. And I do believe that on all fronts we need to be more aggressive to address it, really stepping up our public health efforts, getting our prescribers and our providers to assist with this epidemic, to become waivered physicians, to provide treatment, and to really increase access for our patients to receive the care they need.

CORNISH: So be patient is your answer.

CHRIST: This isn't going to be an issue that's going to be solved overnight. It's going to take time. So yes, while we are being as aggressive as we can, it is going to require patience.

CORNISH: That's Dr. Cara Christ, director of Arizona's Department of Health Services. Thank you for speaking with ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

CHRIST: Absolutely. Thank you.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 graphically   

adv.通过图表；生动地，轮廓分明地

参考例句：

• This data is shown graphically on the opposite page. 对页以图表显示这些数据。
• The data can be represented graphically in a line diagram. 这些数据可以用单线图表现出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

7 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

8 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

12 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

13 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

14 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

15 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。

16 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

17 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%。

18 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。

19 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。