世界上最危险的毒品是什么？ft. In A Nutshell (Kurzgesagt)：英语精读讲义

Death by drug overdose has been on the rise in the US with a 2.2 fold increase from 2002 to 2015. 講解

从2002年到2015年，美国因药物过量死亡的人数增至原来的2.2倍。

But what is the most dangerous drug in the world? 表達脈絡

但世界上最危险的药物究竟是什么？

If we're simply talking about the most lethal substances, 表達脈絡

如果我们只讨论致死性最强的物质，

scientists use something called the median lethal dose or LD50, 用詞

科学家会使用一个叫作半数致死量（LD50）的指标，

which measures how much of a substance is required to kill half the members of a tested population. 語法

它衡量的是杀死一半受试群体所需的某种物质剂量。

So something like coffee requires around 13 grams to kill a 70 kilogram person,

例如，要让一名70公斤的人死亡，大约需要13克咖啡，

while the venom of an inland taipan snake requires much less with only 0.00175 grams.

而内陆太攀蛇的毒液只需0.00175克，少得多。

Using this method,

按照这种方法，

the most deadly substance on Earth,

地球上最致命的物质是

botulinum toxin or Botox. 文化背景

肉毒杆菌毒素，也就是 Botox。

Oral ingestion would require only 0.00000007 grams to kill a 70 kilogram person. 用詞

一名70公斤的人只需口服0.00000007克就会致死。

However, most dangerous doesn't always mean most lethal. 講解

然而，“最危险”并不总等于“最致命”。

In the UK,

在英国，

a group of experts decided to look at how much harm the most common recreational drugs cause using 16 parameters, 用詞

一组专家决定用16项指标，评估最常见的娱乐性药物会造成多大危害，

including types of physical, psychological, and social harm.

其中包括生理、心理和社会层面的危害。

For example, a drug may cause physical damage but not be lethal. 語法

例如，一种药物可能会损害身体，却不一定致命。

It could cause you to become completely dependent. 語法

它也可能让你变得完全依赖它。

It can be more likely to cause loss of relationships or decreased mental functioning,

它还可能更容易导致人际关系破裂或心智功能下降，

and these are all forms of harm.

而这些都属于危害。

Using these criteria, 表達脈絡

按照这些标准，

they concluded that the most dangerous drug to an individual is heroin. 用詞

他们得出结论：对个人而言，最危险的药物是海洛因。

Heroin can be injected, snorted, or smoked and enters the brain rapidly,

海洛因可以注射、鼻吸或吸食，并会迅速进入大脑，

particularly when injected into the bloodstream.

尤其是直接注入血液时。

Here, it attaches to opioid receptors, 短語搭配

进入大脑后，它会与阿片类受体结合，

creating a surge of pleasurable sensations. 短語搭配

引发一阵强烈的快感。

It's also highly addictive with intense withdrawal symptoms that begin within hours of a hit, 用詞

它的成瘾性也极强，一次用药后仅数小时，剧烈的戒断症状就会开始出现，

including insomnia, cold flashes, muscle and bone pain, nausea, and vomiting.

包括失眠、阵阵发冷、肌肉和骨骼疼痛、恶心以及呕吐。

Receptors in the brainstem are also affected,

脑干中的受体也会受到影响，

impacting important physiological processes such as breathing and blood pressure,

进而干扰呼吸和血压等重要的生理过程，

which is why overdosing causes breathing to slow or stop entirely, 表達脈絡

这就是为什么过量使用会使呼吸减慢，甚至完全停止，

leading to the accumulation of CO2 in the blood and ultimately death. 短語搭配

导致二氧化碳在血液中积聚，并最终致死。

And since heroin is unregulated, 表達脈絡

而且，由于海洛因不受监管，

it is especially difficult for users to know the strength of the dose, 講解

使用者尤其难以判断每一剂的效力，

making the risk of ODing high. 用詞

因此过量使用的风险很高。

Additionally, the drug can be mixed with other compounds like fentanyl,

此外，海洛因还可能掺入芬太尼等其他化合物，

making it even more dangerous.

从而变得更加危险。

Fentanyl, like heroin,

芬太尼和海洛因一样，

is an opiate but is 50 to 100 times as strong because it is very lipophilic, 語法

也是一种阿片类药物，但效力是海洛因的50至100倍，因为它具有很强的亲脂性，

meaning it penetrates our fatty brain more easily.

也就是说，它更容易进入我们富含脂肪的脑组织。

And in terms of lethality alone, 短語搭配

如果只看致死性，

it's much more dangerous than heroin to users.

对使用者来说，它比海洛因危险得多。

It was initially used as a prescription pain reliever, 用詞

它最初被用作处方止痛药，

but because of its addictiveness,

但由于很容易让人上瘾，

it was mostly used in end-of-life cases. 用詞

过去主要用于临终患者。

It has since emerged as a recreational drug 短語搭配

后来，它成为了一种娱乐性药物；

where the number of reported fentanyl-related overdoses has increased seven times from 2012 to 2014 in the US

在美国，2012年至2014年间，报告的芬太尼相关药物过量案例增至原来的七倍，

and continues to see more widespread use worldwide.

而且它在世界各地的使用仍在日益普遍。

But there is an even more dangerous drug.

但还有一种药物更加危险。

Though crack cocaine and methamphetamine top the list of harm to an individual just after heroin, 短語搭配

尽管快克可卡因和甲基苯丙胺在个人危害榜上紧随海洛因之后，

finding the most dangerous drug overall involved studying 20 different popular drugs 語法

要找出整体上最危险的药物，研究人员需要考察20种不同的常见药物，

and also looking at the harm they place on others.

还要评估它们对其他人造成的危害。

This includes the physical and psychological harm,

这包括生理和心理伤害、

crime, degradation to families and communities,

犯罪、对家庭和社区的破坏，

and economic costs.

以及经济成本。

And in the end, 表達脈絡

最终，

it turns out the most dangerous drug in the world is alcohol.

世界上最危险的药物竟然是酒精。

To ensure this wasn't simply a UK phenomenon, 表達脈絡

为确保这并非英国特有的现象，

a European group attempted the same process,

一个欧洲研究团队也尝试采用同样的流程，

putting more emphasis on individual harm and less on economic harm. 語法

但更看重对个人的危害，降低了经济危害的权重。

And even with the different weightings, 表達脈絡

即使各项因素的权重不同，

the two groups found largely the same result.

两个团队得出的结果仍大致相同。

A large contributor to the danger of alcohol is its wide use. 語法

酒精之所以如此危险，一大原因是饮酒现象极为普遍。

The majority of the world does drink and drink a lot 語法

世界上大多数人都会喝酒，而且喝得很多，

with an average of 17 liters of pure alcohol consumed per person per year.

平均每人每年会摄入17升纯酒精。

The World Health Organization found 3.3 million deaths worldwide were caused by dangerous alcohol consumption in 2012,

世界卫生组织发现，2012年全球有330万人因危险饮酒而死亡，

meaning alcohol kills one person every 10 seconds. 表達脈絡

也就是说，酒精每10秒就会夺走一条生命。

But experts don't recommend a prohibition stance on alcohol. 用詞

但专家并不建议禁酒。

By all accounts, the war on drugs has been deemed a failure, 講解

各方普遍认为，“禁毒战争”已经失败，

and nations who have stepped away from hardline policies and implemented decriminalization, 講解

而那些放弃强硬政策，转而推行去罪化、

harm reduction, and education 文化背景

减害措施和教育的国家，

have seen significant declines of drug abuse. 短語搭配

其药物滥用情况都显著减少。

If you'd like to learn more about the failure of the war on drugs,

如果你想进一步了解“禁毒战争”为何失败，

check out In A Nutshell's video, 短語動詞

可以观看 In A Nutshell 的视频；

who so brilliantly helped us animate this video.

他们还非常出色地协助我们为本视频制作了动画。

A huge thanks to them for helping out

非常感谢他们伸出援手，

and continuing to inspire us with their intelligent and well-designed videos.

也感谢他们不断用充满智慧、设计精良的视频带给我们灵感。

You can also check out our drug series

你也可以观看我们的药物系列视频，

if you'd like to learn more about the impact of specific drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and LSD on your brain.

进一步了解大麻、可卡因和 LSD 等特定药物会如何影响你的大脑。