为什么向毒品宣战是彻头彻尾的失败：英语精读讲义

Over 40 years ago, US President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse public enemy number one, 習語

40多年前，美国总统理查德·尼克松宣布滥用毒品为头号公敌，

starting an unprecedented global campaign, the War on Drugs.

发起了一场史无前例的全球运动，即“毒品战争”。

Today, the numbers are in. 習語

如今，结果已经出炉。

The War on Drugs is a huge failure with devastating unintended consequences. 短語搭配

毒品战争彻底失败，并带来了灾难性的意外后果。

It led to mass incarceration in the US, 文化背景

它导致了美国的大规模监禁，

to corruption,

导致了腐败，

political destabilization and violence in Latin America,

拉丁美洲的政治动荡和暴力，

Asia and Africa,

以及亚洲和非洲的动荡，

to systemic human rights abuses across the world. 用詞

并在全球范围内造成了系统性的侵犯人权行为。

It negatively affected the lives of millions of people.

它对数百万人的生活产生了负面影响。

All of this while we waste billions of dollars every year,

然而就在我们每年浪费数十亿美元的同时，

only to create and fuel powerful drug cartels, 語法

却只催生并助长了强大的贩毒集团，

while the goal of the War on Drugs seems less achievable than ever.

而毒品战争的目标似乎比以往任何时候都难以实现。

A world without drugs.

建立一个没有毒品的世界。

How could this happen?

怎么会变成这样？

The core strategy of the War on Drugs is no drugs,

毒品战争的核心策略是没有毒品，

no problems.

就没有问题。

So almost all of the efforts in the last few decades have been focused on eradicating the supply of drugs

因此，过去几十年几乎所有的努力都集中在根除毒品供应

and incarcerating drug traffickers.

和监禁毒贩上。

But this ignores the most fundamental of market forces, 文化背景

但这忽略了最基本的市场规律：

supply and demand.

供求关系。

If you reduce the supply of anything without reducing the demand first, 語法

如果你没有先减少需求就减少任何东西的供应，

its price goes up.

它的价格就会上涨。

This might lower sales for many products,

这可能会降低许多产品的销量，

but not for drugs.

但对毒品并非如此。

The drugs market is not price-sensitive. 用詞

毒品市场对价格不敏感。

Drugs will be consumed no matter what they cost. 語法

无论毒品多贵，都会有人消费。

So the effect is to encourage production of more drugs and recruitment of more traffickers,

因此，其影响反而是鼓励了更多毒品的生产和招募更多毒贩，

which increases availability.

这增加了毒品的可获得性。

This is also known as the balloon effect. 文化背景

这也被称为气球效应。

Even if drug production or a major supply route is destroyed, 語法

即使毒品生产或主要的供应路线被摧毁，

the supply for the end user is not reduced.

最终用户的供应也不会减少。

A perfect example of this is crystal meth.

冰毒就是一个完美的例子。

The US government tried to stop its production

美国政府曾试图阻止其生产，

by strictly regulating the sale of chemicals used to manufacture the drug.

方法是严格管制用于制造该毒品的化学品的销售。

This forced big meth producers out of business, 短語搭配

这迫使大型冰毒生产商破产，

but the unintended consequences were that thousands of small-scale operations started all over the country,

但意外的后果是，全国各地涌现了数千个小型生产作坊，

mostly in small towns and rural communities,

主要是在小城镇和农村社区，

using chemicals that weren't regulated.

使用不受管制的化学品。

In response to this, 表達脈絡

为了应对这一问题，

some US states wanted to reduce the supply of homegrown meth by regulating even more chemicals, 用詞

美国的一些州希望通过管制更多的化学品来减少本土冰毒的供应，

which reduced small-scale meth production drastically.

这使得小型冰毒生产大幅减少。

But the supply of meth still stayed the same.

但是冰毒的供应量仍然保持不变。

Mexican drug cartels immediately took over and opened big production operations. 短語動詞

墨西哥贩毒集团立即接管，并开设了大型生产基地。

Their meth was even better than it was before,

他们的冰毒质量甚至比以前更好，

and they had loads of experience in smuggling. 短語搭配

并且拥有丰富的走私经验。

So all these efforts made meth production more professional, 語法

因此，所有这些努力使得冰毒生产更加专业化，

the drug more potent,

毒品效力更强，

while supply wasn't reduced at all.

而供应却丝毫没有减少。

You can't win this war on the supply side. 用詞

你无法在供应方赢得这场战争。

Not only are drugs widely available,

毒品不仅随处可见，

demand unbroken,

需求也依然存在，

and some drugs purer than in the past,

甚至有些毒品比过去更纯，

with a budget of around 30 billion dollars,

尽管预算高达300亿美元左右，

the US Drug Enforcement Agency has an efficiency rate of less than 1%

美国缉毒局的效率却不到1%，

when it comes to stopping the flow of drugs into the US and inside the US. 短語搭配

当谈到阻止毒品流入美国和在美国国内流通时。

For many minors around the world,

对于世界各地的许多未成年人来说，

it's as easy to get illegal drugs as alcohol. 語法

获得非法毒品和买酒一样容易。

But it doesn't stop here. 表達脈絡

但问题不止于此。

Prohibition may prevent a certain amount of people from taking drugs, 語法

禁毒或许能阻止一部分人吸毒，

but in the process, 短語搭配

但在该过程中，

it causes huge damage to society as a whole.

它对整个社会造成了巨大的破坏。

Many of the problems we associate with drug use

许多我们认为与吸毒有关的问题，

are actually caused by the war against them.

实际上是由针对毒品的战争引起的。

For example,

例如，

prohibition makes drugs stronger.

禁毒使得毒品药效更强。

The more potent drugs you can store in as little space as possible, 語法

你能在尽可能小的空间里储存越强效的毒品，

the more profit you'll make.

你获得的利润就越高。

It was the same during alcohol prohibition,

禁酒令时期也是如此，

which led to an increased consumption of strong liquor over beer.

那导致了人们烈酒的消费量超过了啤酒。

The prohibition of drugs also led to more violence and murders around the world.

禁毒还在世界范围内导致了更多的暴力和谋杀。

Gangs and cartels have no access to the legal system to settle disputes, 短語搭配

帮派和贩毒集团无法通过法律系统解决纠纷，

so they use violence.

所以他们使用暴力。

This led to an ever-increasing spiral of brutality. 習語

这导致了不断升级的暴行。

According to some estimates, 表達脈絡

根据一些估计，

the homicide rate in the US is 25 to 75% higher

美国的谋杀率高出了25%到75%，

because of the War on Drugs.

这都是因为毒品战争。

And in Mexico,

而在墨西哥，

a country on the front line, 習語

这个处于前线的国家，

an estimated 164,000 have been murdered between 2007 and 2014.

估计在2007年至2014年间有16.4万人被谋杀。

More people than in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq

比阿富汗和伊拉克战区

in the same period combined.

在同一时期死亡人数的总和还多。

But where the War on Drugs might do the most damage to society 語法

但毒品战争可能对社会造成最大破坏的地方，

is the incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders.

是对非暴力毒品违法者的监禁。

For example,

例如，

the United States,

美国，

one of the driving forces of the War on Drugs,

作为毒品战争的推动力量之一，

has 5% of the world's total population,

拥有世界总人口的5%，

but 25% of the world's prison population,

但却占了世界监狱人口的25%，

largely due to the harsh punishments and mandatory minimums. 文化背景

这在很大程度上归咎于严厉的惩罚和强制性的最低刑期。

Minorities suffer because of this especially.

少数族裔因此受害尤深。

African-Americans make up 40% of all US prison inmates. 短語動詞

非裔美国人占了所有美国监狱囚犯的40%。

And while white kids are more likely to abuse drugs, 語法

尽管白人青少年更容易滥用毒品，

black kids are 10 times more likely to get arrested for drug offenses.

但黑人青少年因毒品犯罪被捕的可能性是前者的10倍。

Okay,

好吧，

but is there actually something different we could do?

但我们难道不能采取一些不同的措施吗？

Is there a way out of this mess? 習語

这种乱象有解决办法吗？

In the 1980s,

在20世纪80年代，

Switzerland experienced a public health crisis related to heroin use.

瑞士经历了一场与海洛因使用相关的公共卫生危机。

HIV rates skyrocketed, 習語

艾滋病毒感染率飙升，

and street crime became a problem.

街头犯罪成为了一个问题。

Swiss authorities tried a new strategy,

瑞士当局尝试了一种新的策略：

harm reduction. 文化背景

减少危害。

They opened free heroin maintenance centers where addicts would be treated and stabilized. 文化背景

他们开设了免费的海洛因维持中心，吸毒者将在那里接受治疗和稳定病情。

Here,

在这里，

people would be given free heroin of high quality,

人们可以获得高质量的免费海洛因，

they would get clean needles,

还能拿到干净的针头，

and have access to safe injection rooms,

并可以使用安全的注射室、

showers,

淋浴、

beds,

床铺，

and medical supervision.

以及医疗监督。

Social workers helped them find housing and deal with other problems in their lives.

社会工作者会帮助他们寻找住房，并处理生活中的其他问题。

The results were a sharp drop in drug-related crime, 短語搭配

结果是与毒品有关的犯罪大幅下降，

and two-thirds of the people in the centers got regular jobs,

而且中心里三分之二的人找到了固定工作，

because now they could focus on getting better 語法

因为现在他们可以专注于康复，

instead of financing their addiction.

而不是为了维持毒瘾而筹钱。

Today,

如今，

over 70% of all heroin addicts in Switzerland receive treatment.

瑞士超过70%的海洛因成瘾者在接受治疗。

HIV infections have dropped drastically.

艾滋病毒感染率已大幅下降。

Deaths from heroin overdoses have dropped by 50%,

因海洛因服药过量死亡的人数下降了50%，

and drug-related street sex work and crime has been reduced enormously.

与毒品相关的街头性工作和犯罪行为大幅减少。

So there are methods that are not only way cheaper, 語法

因此，存在着不仅成本更低，

but also actually work instead of creating more problems.

而且切实可行、不会制造更多问题的方法。

Drug prohibition led to a system that bulldozes human rights, 習語

毒品禁令导致了一个践踏人权、

costs vast sums of money, 短語搭配

耗费巨资，

and creates a lot of human misery,

并且造成了大量人间悲剧的系统，

all in pursuit of an unobtainable goal. 短語搭配

而这一切都是为了追求一个无法实现的目标。

After 40 years of fighting,

在抗争了40年之后，

it's time to finally end the war on drugs 語法

终于到了结束毒品战争的时候，

and move on to something better. 短語動詞

然后转向更好的方法。

This video was supported by the Open Society Foundations

本视频得到了开放社会基金会

and by viewer donations on Patreon.

以及Patreon上观众捐款的支持。

If you want to learn more about how you can influence drug policy,

如果你想了解更多关于如何影响毒品政策的信息，

check out the Stop the Harm campaign.

请查看“Stop the Harm”运动。

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我们终于推出了一些周边商品。

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