世界上最危險的毒品是什麼？ft. In A Nutshell (Kurzgesagt)：英語精讀講義

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

從 2002 年到 2015 年，美國因藥物過量而死亡的人數增至原本的 2.2 倍。

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

但世界上最危險的藥物究竟是什麼？

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

如果我們只討論致死性最強的物質，

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

科學家會使用一項稱為半數致死劑量（LD50）的指標，

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

它衡量的是殺死一半受測族群所需的某種物質劑量。

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

例如，要讓一名 70 公斤的人死亡，大約需要 13 公克的咖啡，

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

而內陸太攀蛇的毒液只需 0.00175 公克，少得多。

Using this method,

依照這種方法，

the most deadly substance on Earth,

地球上最致命的物質是

botulinum toxin or Botox. 文化背景

肉毒桿菌毒素，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 公克就會致死。

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

然而，「最危險」並不總等於「最致命」。

In the UK,

在英國，

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

一群專家決定用 16 項指標，評估最常見的娛樂性藥物會造成多大危害，

including types of physical, psychological, and social harm.

其中包括生理、心理與社會層面的危害。

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

例如，一種藥物可能會傷害身體，卻不一定致命。

It could cause you to become completely dependent. 文法

它也可能讓你變得完全依賴它。

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

它還可能更容易導致人際關係破裂或心智功能下降，

and these are all forms of harm.

而這些都屬於危害。

Using these criteria, 表達脈絡

依照這些標準，

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

他們得出結論：對個人而言，最危險的藥物是海洛因。

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

海洛因可以注射、鼻吸或吸食，並會迅速進入大腦，

particularly when injected into the bloodstream.

尤其是直接注入血液時。

Here, it attaches to opioid receptors, 片語搭配

進入大腦後，它會與鴉片類受體結合，

creating a surge of pleasurable sensations. 片語搭配

引發一股強烈的快感。

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

它的成癮性也極強，一次用藥後僅幾個小時，劇烈的戒斷症狀就會開始出現，

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

包括失眠、陣陣發冷、肌肉與骨骼疼痛、噁心和嘔吐。

Receptors in the brainstem are also affected,

腦幹中的受體也會受到影響，

impacting important physiological processes such as breathing and blood pressure,

進而干擾呼吸和血壓等重要生理過程，

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

這就是為什麼過量使用會讓呼吸變慢，甚至完全停止，

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

導致二氧化碳在血液中累積，最終死亡。

And since heroin is unregulated, 表達脈絡

而且，由於海洛因不受管制，

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

使用者特別難以判斷每一劑的效力，

making the risk of ODing high. 用詞

因此過量使用的風險很高。

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

此外，海洛因還可能混入芬太尼等其他化合物，

making it even more dangerous.

因而變得更加危險。

Fentanyl, like heroin,

芬太尼和海洛因一樣，

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

也是一種鴉片類藥物，但效力是海洛因的 50 到 100 倍，因為它的親脂性很強，

meaning it penetrates our fatty brain more easily.

也就是說，它更容易進入我們富含脂肪的腦組織。

And in terms of lethality alone, 片語搭配

如果只看致死性，

it's much more dangerous than heroin to users.

對使用者來說，它比海洛因危險得多。

It was initially used as a prescription pain reliever, 用詞

它最初被用作處方止痛藥，

but because of its addictiveness,

但因為很容易使人成癮，

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

過去主要用於臨終病患。

It has since emerged as a recreational drug 片語搭配

後來，它成為一種娛樂性藥物；

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

在美國，2012 年至 2014 年間，通報的芬太尼相關藥物過量案例增至原本的七倍，

and continues to see more widespread use worldwide.

而且它在世界各地的使用仍日益普遍。

But there is an even more dangerous drug.

但還有一種藥物更加危險。

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

儘管快克古柯鹼與甲基安非他命在個人危害榜上緊接在海洛因之後，

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

要找出整體上最危險的藥物，研究人員需要研究 20 種不同的常見藥物，

and also looking at the harm they place on others.

還要評估它們對其他人造成的危害。

This includes the physical and psychological harm,

這包括生理與心理傷害、

crime, degradation to families and communities,

犯罪、對家庭與社區的破壞，

and economic costs.

以及經濟成本。

And in the end, 表達脈絡

最後，

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

世界上最危險的藥物竟然是酒精。

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

為確保這並非英國特有的現象，

a European group attempted the same process,

一個歐洲研究團隊也嘗試採用同樣的流程，

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

但更重視對個人的危害，降低了經濟危害的權重。

And even with the different weightings, 表達脈絡

即使各項因素的權重不同，

the two groups found largely the same result.

兩個團隊得出的結果仍大致相同。

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

酒精之所以如此危險，一大原因是飲酒現象極為普遍。

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

世界上大多數人都會喝酒，而且喝得很多，

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

平均每人每年會攝取 17 公升的純酒精。

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

世界衛生組織發現，2012 年全球有 330 萬人因危險飲酒而死亡，

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

也就是說，酒精每 10 秒就會奪走一條人命。

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

但專家並不建議採取禁酒立場。

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

各方普遍認為，「毒品戰爭」已經失敗，

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

而那些放棄強硬政策，轉而推行除罪化、

harm reduction, and education 文化背景

減害措施與教育的國家，

have seen significant declines of drug abuse. 片語搭配

其藥物濫用情況都明顯減少。

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

如果你想進一步了解「毒品戰爭」為何失敗，

check out In A Nutshell's video, 片語動詞

可以看看 In A Nutshell 的影片；

who so brilliantly helped us animate this video.

他們還非常出色地協助我們為這部影片製作動畫。

A huge thanks to them for helping out

非常感謝他們伸出援手，

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

也感謝他們持續用充滿智慧、設計精良的影片帶給我們啟發。

You can also check out our drug series

你也可以觀看我們的藥物系列影片，

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

進一步了解大麻、古柯鹼和 LSD 等特定藥物會如何影響你的大腦。