医学考博英语阅读 | 智利允许大麻合法用作止痛药

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Cannabis in Chile：Easing the agony

智利大麻：减轻痛苦

The state relaxes its stance on the use of the drug as a painkiller

政府立场松绑，允许大麻作为止痛药使用

CECILIA HEYDER has breast cancer. She also has systemic lupus, a disease of the immune system. She’s had a mastectomy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She has taken many painkillers, often with side effects as bad as her symptoms. Last year, in desperation, she asked a doctor what else she could take to relieve her agony. He took out a pen and drew her a cannabis leaf. “It was as if he didn’t dare speak the drug’s name,” Ms Heyder recalls.

塞西莉亚 · 海德尔患有乳腺癌同时伴有系统性红斑狼疮这种免疫系统疾病。她做了乳房切除手术，接受放射治疗和化疗。她吃了大量的止痛药，其副作用就像她的症状那样严重。去年，近乎绝望的她咨询医生还有什么药可以帮她减轻痛苦。医生拿了一支笔画了一片大麻叶子。海德尔回忆：“医生选择写下而不是直接说出来仿佛他不敢讲出药名似的。”

A 48-year-old mother of two, Ms Heyder had only dabbled with cannabis as a teenager. But she got hold of some leaves and used them to make tea. The result was startling. It was far more effective than any conventional painkiller she had used.

48 岁的海德尔，两个孩子的母亲，仅在青少年时期接触过大麻。但是她得到了一些大麻叶子并用它们泡茶喝。结果令人惊喜，该茶水比任何她使用过的传统止痛药都管用。

Inspired by her illicit experiment, Ms Heyder looked for Sativex, a cannabinoid medicine, but it was unavailable in Chile. She persuaded the government to let her import it; the drugs arrived from Europe in September. The Chilean authorities say it’s the first time a cannabis-based treatment has been legally brought to Latin America.

尽管她的尝试不合法，受其鼓励，海德尔开始寻找四氢大麻酚这种含有大麻成分的药物，但是该药在智利买不到。她说服政府准许她进口该药，九月药品从欧洲运抵智利。智利政府称这是首次基于大麻的疗法合法地引入拉丁美洲。

But Sativex is pricey. It costs Ms Heyder 2,000 a month. When her stash runs out she will have to buy more cannabis on the streets. “I don’t want to go back to the fear of being arrested,” she says.

但是四氢大麻酚价格昂贵。每月海德尔药品开支达到2000 美元。当她的储蓄耗尽之时她将不得不在黑市购买大麻。但是她说：“我不想再因为害怕被捕而担惊受怕”。

In view of the cost of cannabinoid medicines, campaigners in Chile are arguing for the right to make cheaper alternatives. In September they won a ground-breaking victory. The Daya Foundation, a local not-for-profit outfit, was allowed to grow cannabis on land in LaFlorida, a district of Santiago. It will be used to make a painkiller for 200 cancer sufferers. The seeds were sown on October 29th. Blessed by the state, it is the first such project in Latin America. Uruguay made waves by legalising recreational marijuana use; now Chile is blazing a trail for the medicinal.

考虑到含大麻成分的药品价格昂贵，智利的运动发起者为争取得到廉价的可替代药品而努力。九月，他们取得了突破性的胜利。达亚基金会，当地一个非盈利性机构被允许在圣地亚哥的弗罗里达区种植大麻。生产的大麻将为200 多名癌症患者提供止痛药。种子已经于十月29 日播种。多亏了智利政府，该项目在拉丁美洲是首个。乌拉圭对娱乐用途的大麻合法化引起各方态度博弈，现在智利在医用大麻合法化的征程开辟了道路。

Nicolas Dormal, Daya’s co-founder, says teaming up with the University of Valparaiso and a respected cancer clinic helped secure approval. The project includes a clinical study of cannabis as a painkiller. LaFlorida’s mayor, Rodolfo Carter, is on board. “ I’ve had a few jokes about the mayor growing his own pot but in general the reaction of local people has been awesome,” he says. “They realise this is not about personal use of marijuana providing people with a natural, healthier and cheaper treatment for their pain.”

尼古拉斯·多玛，达亚基金会的联合创始人声称与瓦尔帕莱索大学以及一个备受推崇的癌症医院合作会大大增加通过的可能性。该项目包括一项大麻作为止痛药的临床研究。弗罗里达的市长鲁道夫·卡特也参与该项目。他开玩笑说：“我这儿有几则笑话说关于市长中了几盆大麻， 不过总体上看当地人们的反应还是很好的。他们意识到这不是大麻使用私人化，而是为人们提供一种更自然更健康也更便宜的药物来止痛。”。

The project may soon expand to help with other ailments. Many Chileans grow marijuana illegally and use it to combat epilepsy. A group of mothers produce the stuff for their epileptic offspring.Not everyone approves of marijuana as a medicine. Doctors and psychiatrists warn that it is habit-forming. The World Health Organisation says it impairs learning and can worsen schizophrenia. The WHO accepts that cannabinoids can have positive therapeutic effects but says more research is needed into their benefits.

该项目可能会很快扩展到治疗其他疾病。许多智利人非法种植大麻用于对抗癫痫病。许多母亲种植大麻用于治疗她们患有癫痫病的子女。并非所有人都支持大麻成为药品。医生及精神病专家警告道，大麻会上瘾。世界卫生组织称大麻会损害人们的学习能力加剧精神分裂。但是世界卫生组织肯定大麻有一定积极的疗效但是认为要使其发挥有益作用需要进一步的研究。

But people like Cecilia Heyder cannot wait; she has only months to live. Having seen how cannabis works, she will use it whether it’s legal or not. Fear of arrest is only a slight deterrent when you’re dying.

但是像塞西莉亚·海德尔这样的病人就等不起，她的日子没有几个月了。已经见识到大妈的疗效，不管是合法还是非法，她将义无返顾地服用。当死亡迫近的时候，对被捕的害怕已经没有多大的威慑性。

Faced with such realities, there is little point in prosecuting people who use cannabis to reduce pain.Canada and at least eight European countries allow the marketing of cannabis-based medicine; now the trend may be starting in the southern hemisphere. For people with little else to celebrate, that is good news.

面对这样的现实，对服用大麻用于减轻痛苦的患者起诉没有任何意义。加拿大及至少八个欧洲国家准许含大麻成分的药物市场营销，现在这种趋势将在南半球流行。因为对于几乎没什么盼头的人们而言，这就是好消息。