VOA慢速英语2015 商人在华盛顿展上展示大麻产品

Dealers¹ Show Marijuana Products at DC Show 商人在华盛顿展上展示大麻产品

Many trade shows are held in the Washington, D.C. area. Jewelry², cars, electronics and other industries have shown their products and services in the past.

But recently Washington was home to a trade show representing a new industry – new, that is, to the legal sales world. The ComfyTree Cannabis Academy held a marijuana trade show just two days after the city legalized use of the drug.

Industry representatives demonstrated smoking equipment and marijuana plant growing systems. Some even gave business advice about what supporters hope will be a successful industry. 

It is still a violation³ of federal law to possess marijuana. And Washington D.C. law still does not permit sales of the drug. For these reasons, the trade show did not feature marijuana itself. But there were new, small businesses with products designed to grow the plant or use it. 

All tickets for the two-day event were sold out. Keith Carey was among the attendees.

“I love marijuana so it's best to find out what everyone is starting to do for it.”

People in their 20s came to the show. The oldest attendees were in their 70s.

Many came just because they were curious, like David Jackson.

“I was just interested in what comes with this new legislation that passed…to take advantage of the new freedom we have.”

Manufacturers demonstrated things like lighting⁴ systems and planters. Eric de Feo showed his seedling⁵ planter, called ROOT. He said it was designed to grow vegetables inside a house or other structure.

“We really didn't start getting traction⁶ with this product until it was suggested you can use this for cannabis.”

In Washington, it is now legal to grow up to six marijuana plants at home. David DeGraff is the owner of The Grow School in Colorado. He told the show’s visitors about his online classes to teach marijuana growing.

“How to set up their grow room properly, how to water and fertilize⁷, how to solve problems.”

Users who want to know more about the many kinds of marijuana can turn to free computer application software from the on-line service Leafly. Its co-founder, Cy Scott, said the most popular kind of plant is called Blue Dream. 

“It's a pretty readily available strain and it’s also one that doesn't put you to sleep like so many do, so people really like it.”

But how can you know if your marijuana is safe to use? Businessman Terron Gray has a machine that can tell you. For a payment, he will test marijuana for its potency⁸ and dangerous chemicals, like pesticides⁹. And he will bring the machine to you.

“And I'll take my machine to whatever residence or wherever you want to be to test your cannabis.”

Chris Wrights owns Scentless¹¹, a business based in Maryland. He sells air purifiers for marijuana.

“We've designed filters for the indoor gardens and tents that will remove 100 percent of the odors so you can grow it discreetly¹².”

Visitor Katie Eye says she is considering a career change after seeing all the products at the show.

“There are plenty of businesses it seems here of interest, a lot of marketing¹³ opportunities, sales for the future.”

Words in This Story

curious – adj. having a desire to learn or know more about something or someone

advantage – n. something (such as a good position or condition) that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others

potency – n. the strength or effectiveness of something

pesticide¹⁰ – n. a chemical that is used to kill harmful animals or insects

odor – n. a smell

1 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。

2 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

3 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。

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

5 seedling   

n.秧苗，树苗

参考例句：

• She cut down the seedling with one chop.她一刀就把小苗砍倒了。
• The seedling are coming up full and green.苗长得茁壮碧绿。

6 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

7 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

8 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。

9 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

11 scentless   

adj.无气味的，遗臭已消失的

参考例句：

12 discreetly   

ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇，一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
• Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么，有意避开了。

13 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。