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VOA慢速英语--美国老年人使用大麻来治疗疼痛和其他疾病

时间:2019-04-05 23:55来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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More Older Americans Using Marijuana to Treat Pain, Other Conditions

Retirement1 communities like Laguna Woods Village in Southern California often plan activities for their older adult members.

One recent outing included eating a small lunch, playing bingo games…and buying their month’s supply of marijuana.

“It’s like the ultimate senior experience,” said 76-year-old retiree Ron Atkin. He talked with Associated Press reporters in the back room of a marijuana store called Bud and Bloom in the California city of Santa Ana.

Most American states have legalized the use of medical marijuana. And 10 of them -- including California – permit people who are 21 and older to use the drug for non-medical purposes.

The federal government still bans the drug, even as acceptance increases across the country. The General Social Survey found last year that a record 61 percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana. It also found that Americans over the age of 65 are increasingly supportive.

Many industry officials say that older Americans make up the fastest-growing group of people buying marijuana products. Seniors use the drug to treat pain, sleeplessness2 and other conditions that can develop with old age.

Kelty Richardson is a registered nurse with the Holos Health clinic in Boulder3, Colorado. The clinic provides medical examinations and sells doctor-recommended cannabis through its online store.

Richardson said, “I would say the average age of our customers is around 60, maybe even a little older.”

Joseph Cohen, Holo Health’s medical director, holds “Cannabis 101” classes at the nearby Balfour Senior Living community. The classes inform people about which kinds of the plant are best for easing arthritic4 pain and which are best for use as a sleep aid.

There have not been very many scientific studies that prove the helpfulness of marijuana for given problems. A 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, did find evidence that the drug can treat continuing pain in adults. The study also noted5 that the lack of scientific information presents a risk to public health.

At Bud and Bloom in Santa Ana, winners of the bingo games took home special new marijuana devices called vape pens. But Ron Atkin comes to the store to buy chocolate and other food products made with cannabis. He uses the products to treat his painful spinal6 condition. He began doing so after other pain medicine stopped working for him.

Atkin noted that his doctors did not suggest he try medical marijuana. But they did not warn him against the drug, either.

Bud and Bloom sells everything from pills to drinks made with cannabis. It also sells more traditional marijuana plant materials, commonly called weed.

Adele Frascella, who is 70 years old, bought some sweets made with cannabis. She said they help ease her arthritic pain.

“I don’t like to take an opioid,” she said. She added that she used to smoke marijuana in her younger days.

“I used to do it when I was like 18, 19, 20,” she said. “And then I had a baby, got married and stopped.”

She started smoking it again a few years ago. But these days, like many other seniors, she prefers eating food products made with cannabis instead of smoking the drug.

Renee Lee is another senior who smoked marijuana as a young person. She got back into it more than 12 years ago. At that time, she had just gone through brain surgery and other major medical procedures. She said she was taking “10 [medications] a day, four times a day.”

“And I wasn’t getting any better,” she added. So, she asked her doctors if she could try medical marijuana. They said go ahead. It ended her pain, Lee said.

In 2012, Lee created the Rossmoor Medical Marijuana Club at her costly7 San Francisco Bay Area retirement community. Today, her club has more than 1,000 members. It holds special events, including talks by doctors and nurses who support the use of cannabis.

Gary Small is a professor of psychiatry8 and aging at the University of California, Los Angeles. He said that people Lee’s age — 65 and over — are the country’s fastest-growing group in the marijuana-using population.

He said that more studies on the drug’s effects on older people are needed. And he said that, while marijuana may improve quality of life by easing pain and other problems, careless use of the drug could be dangerous.

Cannabis use can come with risky9 side effects for older people, Small said. Too much cannabis can lead to memory problems and dizziness. And dizziness can lead to falls.

Dick Watts10, who is 75, had to learn that lesson for himself. The retired11 New Jersey12 builder keeps a winter home at Laguna Woods Village. He began having sleeping problems in his early 70s. At a class he attended, he learned that marijuana might help. So, he got a candy bar made with cannabis. He immediately ate the whole thing.

“Man, that was nearly lethal13,” said Watts, laughing.

Now when he has trouble sleeping, he takes just a small piece of candy before bed. He said he wakes up in the morning with a clear head and good energy.

And, he is sure to keep the candy out of reach from his young grandchildren, he said.

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

And I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

marijuana – n. the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp14 plant that are smoked as a drug

ultimate – adj. used to say that something or someone is the greatest or most extreme example of a particular type of thing or person

senior – n. an old person

cannabis – n. a drug, such as marijuana or hashish, that comes from the hemp plant and is smoked illegally

customer(s) – n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

arthritic – adj. of or relating to a disease that causes the joints15 of the body to become swollen16 and painful

spinal – adj. of, relating to, or affecting the row of connected bones down the middle of the back

opioid – n. a drug, such as morphine or codeine, that is made from the substance opium17 and that is used to reduce pain or cause sleep

dizziness – n. the state of feeling that you are turning around in circles and are going to fall even though you are standing18 still

lethal – adj. causing or able to cause death


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 retirement TWoxH     
n.退休,退职
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
2 sleeplessness niXzGe     
n.失眠,警觉
参考例句:
  • Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分(高三)
3 boulder BNbzS     
n.巨砾;卵石,圆石
参考例句:
  • We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲,把大石头搬开了。
  • He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。
4 arthritic b5cc95cfe3db715aae328bc7f927f4c8     
adj.关节炎的
参考例句:
  • Somehow the geriatric Voyager 2, arthritic and partially deaf, managed to reach Neptune. 得了关节炎而且局部变聋、衰老的“旅行者2号”最后总算抵达海王星。 来自百科语句
  • Femoral head ostectomy is a surgery performed on severely arthritic dogs. 股骨断截骨术’都是针对关节炎严重的狗狗的手术。 来自互联网
5 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
6 spinal KFczS     
adj.针的,尖刺的,尖刺状突起的;adj.脊骨的,脊髓的
参考例句:
  • After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天,就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
  • Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。
7 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
8 psychiatry g0Jze     
n.精神病学,精神病疗法
参考例句:
  • The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
  • A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。
9 risky IXVxe     
adj.有风险的,冒险的
参考例句:
  • It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险,但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
  • He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。
10 watts c70bc928c4d08ffb18fc491f215d238a     
(电力计量单位)瓦,瓦特( watt的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦,我的烤面包器用600瓦。
  • My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。
11 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
12 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
13 lethal D3LyB     
adj.致死的;毁灭性的
参考例句:
  • A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
  • She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。
14 hemp 5rvzFn     
n.大麻;纤维
参考例句:
  • The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
  • The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织,羊毛镶边的。
15 joints d97dcffd67eca7255ca514e4084b746e     
接头( joint的名词复数 ); 关节; 公共场所(尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所) (非正式); 一块烤肉 (英式英语)
参考例句:
  • Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
  • Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。
16 swollen DrcwL     
adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀
参考例句:
  • Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着,她的双腿已经肿了。
  • A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她,她的手臂肿起来了。
17 opium c40zw     
n.鸦片;adj.鸦片的
参考例句:
  • That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
  • Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。
18 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
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