VOA标准英语2013--California Debates Limits of Medical Marijuana

 

California Debates Limits of Medical Marijuana

In Oakland, California, the nation's largest dispensary of medical marijuana, Harborside Health Center, dispenses¹ prepackaged marijuana and potted marijuana plants to a steady stream of users. Each has a doctor's recommendation for marijuana use and belongs to the members-only cooperative.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996 under state law, but the drug remains² illegal under U.S. federal law.

The marijuana dispensary, called the largest pot shop on the planet, pays millions of dollars each year in state and local taxes and has the backing of city officials. It also has paid millions in legal fees to fight efforts by federal officials to close it down. But co-founder³ Steve DeAngelo said the move has started toward nationwide legalization of marijuana.

“The real question is, how is it going to be legalized? What is this new industry going to look like? How are we going to regulate it?” he asked.

In Los Angeles, marijuana dispensaries have proliferated⁴, and even supporters say things are out of control. A simple headache or insomnia⁵ can get a doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana, and the city has 1,000 or more unregulated dispensaries. 

Los Angeles city council member Bill Rosendahl credits marijuana with helping⁶ him cope with debilitating⁷ cancer. 

He backs a proposal called Proposition D, one of three competing measures on the local election ballot⁸ in May. He said it would reduce Los Angeles dispensaries to 135, closing hundreds of others and imposing⁹ needed regulations on an industry that has helped him.

“I feel strong. I feel I have got a long life ahead of me, and I want to thank medicinal marijuana for making it happen,” said Rosendahl.

Polls show that 70 percent of Californians support medical marijuana. A narrow majority supports full legalization, which is now in place in Washington State and Colorado, but not in California. It is all illegal under federal law. 

Today's marijuana is potent¹⁰, with more of the psychoactive agent THC, said psychologist Steve Freng, who works in Seattle with treatment programs for the federal government.

“Marijuana these days is not the marijuana that was out there when I was in high school and college. That was essentially¹¹ Mexican ditch weed that, if you were lucky, was a 3 to 5 percent THC type of marijuana," he said.

Some of today's marijuana is 15 to 20 percent THC, and as with alcohol, there are problems with abuse and underage users.

Federal authorities continue to crack down on some dispensaries. Four were raided recently in Los Angeles. Marijuana fetches higher prices in states where it is illegal, and critics say the lack of regulation in Los Angeles has led to illegal shipments to other states from some dispensaries.

The debate among Californians is no longer about prohibition¹², though, said marijuana dispensary founder DeAngelo. He sees marijuana as a burgeoning¹³ industry, and has set up an investment network called Arcview Group to help finance it.

“It is no longer a question of whether or not cannabis is going to be legalized. It is not even a question of when, because we are in that moment right now,” he said.

DeAngelo said it is a question of how it will be legalized. The country is waiting to see how federal officials respond to that question. 

1 dispenses   

v.分配，分与；分配( dispense的第三人称单数 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• The machine dispenses a range of drinks and snacks. 这台机器发售各种饮料和小吃。
• This machine dispenses coffee. 这台机器发售咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 proliferated   

激增( proliferate的过去式和过去分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Books and articles on the subject have proliferated over the last year. 过去一年以来，论及这一问题的书和文章大量涌现。
• Influenza proliferated throughout the country. 流感在全国蔓延。

5 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

6 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。

7 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

8 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。

9 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

10 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。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

13 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句