美国总统奥巴马每周电台演讲:治疗毒瘾

THE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everybody.  I’ve got a special guest with me this week – Macklemore.  For those of you who don’t share the same love[i] for hip-hop, he’s a Grammy-winning artist – but he’s also an advocate who’s giving voice to a disease we too often just whisper about: the disease of addiction.
总统：大家好！这周我请来了一位特殊的客人，马克莫。对那些不怎么喜欢说唱艺术的人来说可能不太熟悉，他是格莱美获奖歌手，但他同时也是一位活动家，呼吁人们关心我们大家经常私下讨论的一种疾病：毒瘾。

MACKLEMORE:  Hey, everybody.  I’m here with President Obama because I take this personally.  I abused prescription drugs and battled addiction.  If I hadn’t gotten the help I needed when I needed it, I might not be here today.  And I want to help others facing the same challenges I did.
马克莫：大家好！我今天以个人的身份与奥巴马总统会面。我曾经滥用处方药上瘾，并长期与之斗争。如果在我当时需要帮助的时候没有得到帮助，我今天就可能不会在这里出现了。我也希望帮助其他人来面对我曾经面临的挑战。

THE PRESIDENT:  Drug overdoses now take more lives every year than traffic accidents.  Deaths from opioid overdoses have tripled since 2000.  A lot of the time, they’re from legal drugs prescribed by a doctor.  So addiction doesn’t always start in some dark alley – it often starts in a medicine cabinet.  In fact, a new study released this month found that 44 percent of Americans know someone who has been addicted to prescription pain killers.
总统：现在，每年因药物滥用致死的人数已经超过车祸致死人数。类鸦片药物滥用致死人数自2000年以来增加了3倍。很多时候，这些药都是医生开出的合法处方药。因此，毒瘾并不总是从暗黑的小巷开始，而经常始于我们的储药箱。实际上，本月发布的一份新的研究报告表明，44%的美国人知道身边有人曾经对止痛处方药上瘾。

MACKLEMORE:  I didn’t just know someone – I lost someone.  My friend Kevin overdosed on painkillers when he was just 21 years old.  Addiction is like any other disease – it doesn’t discriminate.  It doesn’t care what color you are, whether you’re a guy or a girl, rich or poor, whether you live in the inner-city, a suburb, or rural America.  This doesn’t just happen to other people’s kids or in some other neighborhood.  It can happen to any of us.
马克莫：我不仅仅是知道有人上瘾，我还永远失去了一些朋友。我的朋友凯文因使用止痛药过量去世，当时他才21岁。毒瘾跟其他任何疾病一样，没有什么区别。无论你是什么肤色，是男是女，贫穷还是富裕，生活在城市、郊区还是乡下。这种病不仅会发生在别人家的孩子或邻居身上。也可能发生在任何人身上。

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s why just talking about this crisis isn’t enough – we need to get treatment to more people who need it.  My administration is working with communities to reduce overdose deaths, including with medication.  We’re working with law enforcement to help people get into treatment instead of jail.  And under Obamacare, health plans in the Marketplace have to include coverage for treatment.
总统：所以，仅仅讨论这种危机是不够的，我们需要为更多的人提供必要的治疗手段。本届政府正在与社会各界合作，降低药物滥用致死率，包括医用药在内。我们正与执法人员一起，帮助人们接受治疗而不是把他们关进监狱。在奥巴马医疗保险范围内，医保市场的健康保障计划应该将这些治疗包含进来。

MACKLEMORE:  I know recovery isn’t easy or quick, but along with the 12-step program, treatment has saved my life.  Recovery works – and we need our leaders in Washington fund it and people know how to find it.
马克莫：我知道，恢复的过程会很长，也不容易，但按照12步疗法完成治疗之后，我得救了。这种康复方案是有效的，我们需要华盛顿的领导人们为此提供资金，人们会知道怎么获得资助。

THE PRESIDENT: We all need to do more to make that happen.  I’ve asked Congress to expand access to recovery services, and to give first responders the tools they need to treat overdoses before it’s too late.  This week, the House passed several bills about opioids – but unless they also make actual investments in more treatment, it won’t get Americans the help they need.
总统：我们需要共同努力实现这一目标。我已经要求国会扩大医保服务覆盖范围，给应急处置人员必要的手段支持，及时治疗药物滥用患者，避免事情恶化。本周，众议院通过了关于鸦片类药物的多项法案，但除非他们能在治疗方面做出实质性的投资安排，否则，需要治疗的人们能够得到的帮助也是有限的。

On top of funding, doctors also need more training about the power of the pain medication they prescribe, and the risks they carry.  Another way our country can help those suffering in private is to make this conversation public.
除了提供资金之外，医生也需要更多的培训，让他们知道开出的止疼药的功效，以及他们会承担的风险。此外，帮助那些遭受毒瘾折磨的人们，还有另一种方式，就是让这种对话从私下转为公开。

MACKLEMORE:  When you’re going through it, it’s hard to imagine there could be anything worse than addiction.  But shame and the stigma associated with the disease keeps too many people from seeking the help they need.  Addiction isn’t a personal choice or a personal failing.  And sometimes it takes more than a strong will to get better – it takes a strong community and accessible resources.
马克莫：当你经历过之后，很难想象还有什么事情比毒瘾更糟糕。但随之而来的羞耻感和坏名声则伴随着这种疾病一起，让很多人不敢去寻找他们急需的帮助。毒瘾并不是某个人特意的选择或个人的过错。解决这个问题有时候这需要强大的戒掉毒瘾的意愿，需要强有力的社会支持和便捷的资源支撑。

THE PRESIDENT:  The good news is, there’s hope.  When we talk about opioid abuse as the public health problem it is, more people will seek the help they need.  More people will find the strength to recover, just like Macklemore and millions of Americans have.  We’ll see fewer preventable deaths and fewer broken families.
总统：好消息是，希望就在眼前。当我们将鸦片类药物滥用作为一个公共卫生问题来讨论的时候，就会有更多的人去寻求帮助。更多的人能找到恢复的信心，就像马克莫和数百万已经恢复的人们一样。未来，我们可以预见，因毒瘾死亡的人会更少，支离破碎的家庭也会更少。

MACKLEMORE:  We have to tell people who need help that it’s OK to ask for it.  We’ve got to make sure they know where to get it.
马克莫：我们要告诉那些需要帮助的人们，大胆去寻求帮助，没问题。我们要让他们知道应该去哪里求援。

THE PRESIDENT:  We all have a role to play.  Even if we haven’t fought this battle in our own lives, there’s a good chance we know someone who has, or who is.
总统：我们每个人都要尽自己的能力。即便我们自己不需要与这种病痛斗争，我们去帮助那些有这种病的人也是好事。

MACKLEMORE:  President Obama and I just had a powerful conversation here at the White House about opioid abuse, and what we can do about it.  You can catch it this summer on MTV.  And to find treatment in your area, call 1-800-662-HELP.
马克莫：奥巴马总统和我今天在白宫就鸦片类药物滥用问题进行了一场很有分量的谈话，而且说到了如何解决这一问题。我会在今年夏天的MTV上来展现。大家可以拨打电话1-800-662转人工寻求治疗方案。

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, and have a great weekend.
总统：谢谢，祝大家周末愉快。

[i] “Same Love” is the title of Macklemore’s hit 2012 song about marriage equality.
备注：《相同的爱》是马克莫2012年的关于婚姻平等的一首单曲的歌名。