VOA慢速英语2017 冰毒等合成类毒品危害亚洲安全（在线收听）

The United Nations says amphetamines and synthetic, or man-made, drugs are a new threat to communities in Asia.

UN officials have reported an increase in the production and use of such substances.

Two million pills of the drug methamphetamine were seized last weekend in northern Thailand. Drug traffickers tried to pass a road guarded by police in Chiang Rai province, but soldiers and police saw them. One trafficker was shot dead.

The incident took place near the Golden Triangle region of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. That area is known for drug production.

Methamphetamine is a synthetic drug. It can affect behavior by changing how the brain thinks.

Synthetic drugs are responsible for many drug overdoses. Some overdoses are accidental. In others, the person may take large amount of the drug on purpose.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, noted in a recent report that methamphetamine production and seizure rates have increased.

The report said that 287 million methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2015. That is more than two times the amount of pills seized in 2011.

The UNODC said Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were thought to have an increase in the use of methamphetamine pills in 2015.

Cambodia, China, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam all reported increases in use and trafficking of crystalline methamphetamine. Crystalline methamphetamine is a liquid form of the drug.

UNODC data shows that the flow of illegal drugs continues to rise across the Greater Mekong Sub-Region, an area covering six countries.

Methamphetamine has been a leading product in the illegal drug trade for many years.

Synthetic drugs made in secret laboratories in Asia are sold in markets as far away as North America.

The United States is currently facing an opioid epidemic. Opioids are drugs that reduce pain. They are causing up to 60,000 deaths a year nationwide.

Inshik Sim is a UNODC information specialist in Thailand. He told VOA that while methamphetamine seizures increased nearly seven times over the past 10 years, heroin seizures are largely unchanged.

He said increases in methamphetamine use have also raised concerns in China, Singapore and Malaysia.

Olivier Lermet is a UNODC regional advisor. Lermet said in an email to VOA that amphetamine-type stimulants, a kind of drug, are easy to produce and are made in laboratories close to where the drugs are sold.

With a growing middle class and rising incomes, more people are turning to methamphetamines. Men, women, older adults and young people are buying the drug.

The UNODC report said organized crime groups play "a significant role in methamphetamine manufacturing and trafficking in the region." These groups include those in northeastern Myanmar, eastern China and Taiwan.

Traffickers target markets with high earnings, such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

In fact, seizures of crystalline methamphetamine at the borders of these four nations have increased rapidly in recent years, the UNODC said.

The United Nations has called on countries to have a more balanced response to drugs. It wants countries to place more importance on treatment.

But Southeast Asia has been slow to reform its drug laws and some countries have launched a war on drugs.

In the Philippines, police and unidentified gunmen have killed more than 7,000 people during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.

In Thailand, up to 70 percent of all 300,000 prisoners in jail were sentenced on drug-related charges.

But activists say there is need for reform to fight drug use.

They say programs that require drug users to go to special treatment centers should end. Voluntary community-based treatment and services should come into effect, they say.

Joe Maier is a Catholic clergyman who operates aid projects in Klong Toey, one of the poorest areas in Thailand. He said the government offers communities little support in providing activities to keep people away from drugs.

Maier said the government has never put money into community efforts. He said, They never have dumped huge amounts of money into sports. The government does not see sports fields, athletics and sport programs and sports heroes as combating drugs, Maier said.

联合国表示，安非他明以及合成或人造类药物是亚洲地区的新威胁。

联合国工作人员的报告显示，上述物质的生产量持续增加。

上周，泰国北部缴获了200万颗安非他明药丸。毒贩子试图通过清莱省一条有警察把守的路，但士兵和警察看到了他们。最终，一名毒贩子被击毙。

这次事件发生在泰国、老挝、缅甸的金三角地区。该地区以生产毒品而闻名。

冰毒是一种合成类药物，它能通过改变大脑的思维方式来影响人的行为。

合成类药物是很多药物过量的罪魁祸首。一些药物过量是偶然发生的。而还有一些情况是人故意服用大量药物的。

联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室(UNODC)在最近发布的一份报告中写道，冰毒的生产率和缴获率都在上升。

报告还写道，2015年，东亚和东南亚地区缴获的冰毒药丸数量达2.87亿。这一数字是2011年的2倍。

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联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室表示，这表明，2015年缅甸、老挝、柬埔寨和越南的冰毒使用量有所上升。

报告显示，柬埔寨、中国、菲律宾、新加坡、越南的冰毒使用量和贩卖量均有所上升。这是一种液态药物。

联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室的数据显示，大湄公河次区域的非法毒品流动量在持续上升，该地区涉及到6个国家。

多年来，冰毒一直是非法毒品交易的头号产品。

亚洲各秘密实验室研制出来的合成类毒品被售往多个市场，最远能到达北美。

美国现在正在面临鸦片类药物的困扰。鸦片类药物是能减少疼痛的药物。这种药物每年导致美国多达6万人口死亡。

锡姆是联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室驻泰国的信息专家。他在接受VOA采访时说道，虽然冰毒的缴获量在过去10年间增长了近7倍，但海洛因的缴获量基本没变。

他还说，冰毒使用量的增加也引起了中国、新加坡和马来西亚的关注。

奥利维尔是联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室的地区顾问。奥利维尔在一封写给VOA的邮件中说，安非他明类的药物生产流程简单，而且产地和销售地距离很近。

随着中产阶级数量的增加以及人们收入的增多，越来越多的人开始吸冰毒。男女老少都在购买冰毒。

联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室的报告中写道，有组织犯罪团伙“在该地区的冰毒生产和贩卖方面，作用十分重要。”这里所指的犯罪团伙也分布在缅甸东北部、中国东部和中国台湾。

毒贩子瞄准的市场都带有高收益，比如日本、韩国、澳大利亚和新西兰。

实际上，近年来，这四个国家边境上的冰毒缴获量都在上升，联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室表示。

联合国呼吁各国对毒品采取更具有平衡性的回应。联合国希望各国能够在戒毒方面下更大力气。

但东南亚在改革与毒品有关的法律方面动作缓慢，而一些国家已经发动了毒品战争。

菲律宾警察和身份不明的狙击手已经在总统罗德里戈 杜特尔特执政期间杀掉了7000多人。

泰国30万囚犯中的70%是因从事了与毒品有关的犯罪活动而入狱。

但活动家表示，有必要进行改革，以打击吸毒行为。

很多活动家认为，应该终止那些让吸毒者接受特殊戒毒中心的项目，而是应该采用基于社群的自愿戒毒和服务方式。

乔是一位天主教牧师，他在泰国最破旧地区之一的孔提经营了很多援助项目。乔表示，在，为市民开展活动，让其避免接触毒品方面，政府提供的支持少之又少。

乔表示，泰国政府从未把钱花在人民身上。乔还说，他们在体育方面就从未投入过足够的资金。政府也不认为运动场、田径、体育运动和体育健儿是抗击毒品的利器，乔如是说道。