VOA常速英语:Deadly Drug Overdoses Epidemic Rages On

My husband just passed, so its kind of still,Im still trying to get through losing him in daily life.
我丈夫刚刚过世，我还在努力克服日常生活中失去他的痛苦。
An overdose took the life of Victoria St Arnold husband.
一次吸毒过量夺走了维多利亚·圣阿诺德丈夫的生命。
For decades he had used prescription drugs and opioids,to ease the throbbing pain from a series of spine surgeries.
几十年来，他一直使用处方药和阿片类药物，以缓解一系列脊柱手术带来的阵痛。
Im assuming he thought that he had just gotten some normal pills.
我猜他以为他只是吃了些正常的药片。
It turned out that it was actually fentanyl.
事实证明，它实际上是芬太尼。
A hundred times more potent than morphine,the synthetic opioid fentanyl has expanded its deadly presence in the united states.
合成阿片类芬太尼的效力是吗啡的一百倍，这种药物在美国导致的死亡在不断增加。
Just a couple milligrams of fentanyl like a few flecks of salt can kill,but mixed with heroin and methamphetamine,its a huge profit maker for illegal drug dealers who sell it without the users knowledge.
从外观上看就像几粒盐一样，但是仅仅几毫克的芬太尼就可以致死，如果与海洛因和甲基苯丙胺混合在一起，对于非法毒贩来说是一个巨大的利润来源，他们可以在使用者不知情的情况下出售芬太尼。
Because fentanyl is going to make people more addicted to those drugs.
因为芬太尼会让人们对这些药物更加上瘾。
And its cheaper, its potent its more stronger.
它更便宜，劲更大。
Were seeing a lot more drug overdoses as a result.
这带来的后果是我们看到了越来越过的吸毒过量情况。
In the 12 months ending last July,more than 86,000 people had died of an overdose in the united states officials estimate,that is up 24.2 percent.
据官方估计，在截至去年七月的十二个月里，美国有超过八万六千人死于吸毒过量，这一数字上升了百分之二十四点二。
And in the nations capital a shocking 60 percent increase in overdose deaths in 2020.
在美国首都，2020年吸毒过量死亡人数增加了百分之六十，这一数字令人震惊。
Psychiatrist Dr Nora Volkov says the covid 19 pandemic has made things worse.
精神病学家诺拉·沃尔科夫博士说，疫情使情况变得更糟。
Stress is the strongest predictor about whether people are going to take drugs.
压力是人们是否会吸毒的最强诱惑因子。
And what is stressful, the social isolation that we live on,the loss of jobs, the downturn of the economy.
我们的压力来自于哪里呢，来自于社会孤立，失业，经济低迷。
It is easy to fall into behaviors that temporarily make you feel better.
这就导致人们很容易陷入能让自己暂时感觉好一点的行为。
Corey Kusimano lost her son to an overdose in 2015.
2015年，科里·库西马诺的儿子死于吸毒过量。
She runs a grief group social distancing required.
她远程成立了一个缅怀组织。
She says families cant always afford the medication to reverse an opioid overdose,or pay for long-term drug treatment.
她说，家庭并不总是负担得起治疗阿片类药物过量的手段，或支付长期药物治疗的费用。
Rehab is very expensive.
戒毒所费用高昂。
Its anywhere from six to fourteen thousand dollars for a 30-day inpatient program.
三十天的住院费用从六千美元到一万四千美元不等。
And then after that they can go into sober living,but theyre almost kind of left floundering after that,and theres not that same level of support there.
在那之后，他们可以进入清醒的生活，但在那之后，他们几乎是在苦苦挣扎，那里没有来自他人的支持。而且那里的支持程度也不一样。
Now with the risk of spreading the coronavirus,its more difficult for people with addiction to get help especially the poor.
现在由于传播冠状病毒的风险，有毒瘾的人更难获得帮助，尤其是穷人。
The human factor has been taken out because now people have to use mechanical devices,virtual platforms in an effort to connect with services oftentimes,they dont have sufficient internet access,and even sometimes the knowledge of how to do that,so its become very impersonal in a genre that requires human touch and human contact.
现在已经不存在个人因素的影响，因为现在人们不得不使用机械设备和虚拟平台来努力连接服务，通常情况下，他们没有足够的互联网接入，甚至有时还不知道如何做到这一点，所以在一个需要人与人接触和人类接触的类型中，这变得非常客观。
In a statement to VOA the white house says the Biden administration is working on solutions,based on science and evidence,to expand the addiction workforce and fixing racial disparities in drug policy.
白宫在对美国之音发表的一份声明中说，拜登政府正在研究基于科学和证据的解决方案，以扩大研究吸毒学者的队伍，并解决毒品政策中的种族差距问题。
Also drug enforcement agencies are scaling up their prevention campaigns and community outreach.
此外，禁毒执法机构正在加大预防运动和社区宣传力度。
Starting with school-age children,if they learn early on all the risks associated with these potent lethal substances,thats going to cut off the demand for these substances.
从学龄儿童开始，如果他们很早就了解到与这些强有力的致命物质相关的所有风险，就会切断对这些物质的需求。
Its about prevention, its about treatment and its about enforcement.
这关乎预防，关乎治疗，关乎执行。
Its also about mental health says Victoria St Arnold.
维多利亚·圣阿诺德说，这也关乎心理健康。
Families that risk losing a loved one to drugs need to be tough but compassionate,and to take care of themselves as well.
冒着因毒品而失去亲人的风险的家庭需要坚强但富有同情心，同时也要照顾好自己。
Often they really hate themselves,because they know how much theyre hurting the people around them.
通常他们真的恨自己，因为他们知道自己伤害了周围的人有多深。
I think they need to know that theyre loved but you still have to be firm,you cant just allow certain behaviors because its harmful to everybody.
我认为他们需要知道他们是被爱的，但你仍然必须坚定，你不能只允许某些行为，因为这对每个人都是有害的。
Veronica Valera for VOA news Washington
美国之音记者Veronica Valera华盛顿报道