VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Make Marijuana Legal

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. This week on our program, we look at drug use and drug control policy in the United States.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: Last month, the government released its latest findings on illegal drug use in the United States.

GIL KERLIKOWSKE: "The report contains both good and bad news."

DOUG JOHNSON: Gil Kerlikowske heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He said the use of marijuana, ecstasy¹ and methamphetamine all increased between two thousand eight and two thousand nine. So did the misuse² of legal drugs like painkillers³.

GIL KERLIKOWSKE: "Frankly⁴, we are disappointed by these results. They represent a serious challenge to law enforcement, treatment, prevention and recovery communities and to parents."

DOUG JOHNSON: Mr. Kerlikowske said the good news was a decrease in the use of cocaine⁵. He praised a partnership⁶ among the United States, Colombia and Mexico for helping⁷ to lower cocaine use by twenty-one percent since two thousand seven.

A sign advertises a medical marijuana provider in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles

At the same time, though, a campaign launched by Mexico's president against traffickers has led to bloody⁸ drug wars. Groups in Mexico are fighting each other to meet American demand for drugs.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Each year the United States government surveys almost seventy thousand people throughout the country. The research is called the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Among other things, people are asked if they have used illegal drugs within the past month.

In two thousand eight the survey found that eight percent of the population age twelve and older used illegal drugs. Last year that number increased by almost a full percentage point.

Officials said that was mainly the result of increases in the most commonly used illegal drug: marijuana. Use of marijuana increased by eight percent between two thousand eight and two thousand nine.

DOUG JOHNSON: Drug policy director Gil Kerlikowske says recent findings have suggested a softening⁹ in the concerns of young people about the risks of drugs. He says they see marijuana especially as less threatening than it seemed in the past. And he suggested some possible reasons.

GIL KERLIKOWSKE: "Some we cannot rule out are the constant discussions of so-called medical marijuana, marijuana legalization, and the downplaying of marijuana harms so prevalent in today’s media."

FAITH LAPIDUS: In California, though, a new state law reduces the offense¹⁰ for possessing a small amount of marijuana. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law on September thirtieth.

A person with less than twenty-eight grams will now be charged with an infraction¹¹ instead of a misdemeanor. An infraction is the same level as a minor¹² traffic violation¹³.

The punishment will not change: violators cannot be jailed or fined more than one hundred dollars. But under the new law they will no longer have to worry about getting a criminal record.

Governor Schwarzenegger said California's finances were the main reason the Legislature changed the law.

DOUG JOHNSON: But the governor restated his opposition¹⁴ to a ballot¹⁵ measure that would legalize marijuana in California. Californians will vote on the measure, Proposition 19, during elections on November second.

Proposition 19 would permit the personal use of marijuana by people age twenty-one or older. It would also permit local governments to regulate and tax the production and sale of marijuana by businesses. But people would not be permitted to use marijuana in public or while children are present.

An employee, behind the counter, helps clients choose from jars at a medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles

FAITH LAPIDUS: California is already one of nine western states that permit the use of marijuana to treat pain or for other medical purposes. So do Oregon, Washington state and Alaska, along with Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Hawaii.

Michigan in the Midwest and Maine, New Jersey¹⁶, Rhode Island and Vermont in the East also permit some medical uses. Voters in the nation's capital just passed a medical marijuana law.

The laws differ. Most states require written documentation from a doctor about a patient's condition and need for treatment.

Some states only permit use for certain diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS. And rules differ about how patients can get the drug, how much they can possess and who can grow and sell it.

DOUG JOHNSON: California passed the nation's first medical-marijuana law in nineteen ninety-six. The state permits the use of marijuana for most medical conditions. Patients are not even required to get a written order from their doctor.

The law protects both the patient and the doctor from the risk of legal action. To follow the law, patients must get their marijuana only from officially recognized marijuana cooperatives and dispensaries.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Marijuana dispensaries and clubs need permission to operate under rules that are set by local officials.

The laws on medical marijuana in California are liberal -- some people say too liberal. Opponents say the dispensaries are nothing more than businesses that make big money selling marijuana.

DOUG JOHNSON: Officials in the city of Los Angeles have been taking action to shut down hundreds of dispensaries that are not legally registered. Patients argue that the closings make it difficult to get their marijuana as their doctors have advised.

But critics say the city has more than enough places to supply marijuana to patients. Neighbors of some operations suspect that not all the buyers have a real medical need.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Last year, the California Police Chiefs Association released a report on marijuana dispensaries in the state. The report listed problems that have been found outside some of these businesses. They include street robberies, drug sales to children and increased vehicle traffic.

DOUG JOHNSON: Mark Gustely is the owner of the Starbuds Cannabis Club in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco. His store was robbed shortly after opening this year and he was hit on the head. Mr. Gustely says he has a better security system now.

He also says that before he opened his store, he did a lot of research into how other medical marijuana businesses operate.

MARK GUSTELY: "What I found is that the bulk of the growers do not keep any records, they refuse to allow anyone to see how they’re doing things. And we’ve structured our own store where each vendor¹⁷, which out of nine hundred I've only got currently about ten approved, that are willing to allow their material to be inspected, allow their growth facility to be inspected and be verified organic or natural growing techniques. We also work with the customer to identify the strain that is most effective with the medical condition."

FAITH LAPIDUS: Last month, thirty-eight workers at a medical marijuana company in California joined the Teamsters -- one of America's oldest labor¹⁸ unions.

The workers are employed by a management company in Oakland for marijuana growing cooperatives. The workers approved a two-year contract that will provide retirement¹⁹ pay, higher wages and paid holidays. The company, Marjyn Investments, also agreed to pay for the workers' health care costs.

Lou Marchetti, local business agent for the Teamsters, says he never thought he would organize medical marijuana providers. "Never in my wildest dreams," he says. But he calls marijuana "an expanding industry in California."

DOUG JOHNSON: Dispensary owners are divided on Proposition 19 -- the ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in California.

Mark Gustely is against it. He says if marijuana is legalized, a state sales tax on top of a local tax would make medical marijuana too costly²⁰ in dispensaries.

MARK GUSTELY: "Now, because it's been legalized, you are going to have a kid on the corner selling the same product for a lot less. And they’ll go buy it from some kid on the corner. Now, not everybody, but a number of people will, and this will generate this huge amount of disturbances²¹ in the community. There’ll be an outcry of 'Wow, this was a mistake, let's turn it over to a major corporation like the tobacco industry.'"

FAITH LAPIDUS: Critics of Proposition 19 also include former directors of the Office of National Drug Control Policy as well as the current director, Gil Kerlikowske.

They say there are some people who do not use marijuana simply for one reason -- because it is illegal. They predict that marijuana use will increase if voters in California take that reason away.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: President Obama chose Gil Kerlikowske to serve as the nation's so-called drug czar. The Senate confirmed him in May. Formerly²², he was the police chief in Seattle, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest.

He supports drug policies aimed more at prevention and treatment than punishment. He says it makes no sense to keep talking about a "war on drugs."

GIL KERLIKOWSKE: "Nationally, overdose deaths have surpassed gunshot wounds as the number two cause of injury deaths. In sixteen states, drug-induced deaths have surpassed car crashes to become the leading cause of injury death."

Mr. Kerlikowske says filling jails with repeat drug offenders²³ is not the answer. But he argues that legalizing drugs is not the solution either.

Others are not so sure. Bill Piper is the national affairs director of an organization called the Drug Policy Alliance.

BILL PIPER: "As long as drug use is a crime, people are going to be afraid to seek treatment. It's just not going to work."

FAITH LAPIDUS: The government is trying new ways to control drugs. An estimated seven million Americans abused prescription²⁴ drugs last year.

The Drug Enforcement Administration just completed its first-ever "Prescription Drug Take-Back" campaign. The DEA set up more than four thousand places across the country on October second for people to leave medicines they no longer needed. The agency collected two hundred twenty thousand metric tons of prescription drugs. More take-back days are being planned for the future.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON:Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver²⁵. I’m Doug Johnson.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. You can comment on our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English
 

1 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

2 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

3 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

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 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。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

9 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

10 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

11 infraction   

n.违反；违法

参考例句：

• He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
• Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

12 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

13 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

16 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

17 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

20 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

21 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

22 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

23 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

24 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。

25 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。