(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
More Older Americans Using Marijuana to Treat Pain, Other Conditions
Retirement 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, sleeplessness and other conditions that can develop with old age.
Kelty Richardson is a registered nurse with the Holos Health clinic in Boulder, 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 arthritic 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 noted 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 spinal 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 costly 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 psychiatry 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 risky side effects for older people, Small said. Too much cannabis can lead to memory problems and dizziness. And dizziness can lead to falls.
Dick Watts, who is 75, had to learn that lesson for himself. The retired New Jersey 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 lethal," 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.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. make up 组成；构成；
North Africans make up the largest and poorest immigrant group in the country.
北非人构成了该国最大的、也是最贫困的移民群。
2. used to do sth. 过去常常；过去曾；
We used to go sailing on the lake in summer.
从前的夏天，我们经常泛舟湖上。
3. go through 经历，经受（尤指苦难或艰难时期）；
Men go through a change of life emotionally just like women.
男人和女人一样，也要在情绪上经历更年期。
4. instead of 代替…；而不是…；
Instead of taking me to the departure lounge they took me right to my seat on the plane.
他们没有带我去候机厅，而是直接领我上飞机到了我的座位上。
参考译文
越来越多的美国老年人用大麻来治疗疼痛和其他疾病
像南加州拉古纳伍兹村这样的退休社区经常为老年成员安排各种活动。
最近一项郊游计划包括享用简单的午餐、玩宾果游戏，还有购买可用一个月的大麻。
76岁的退休人员罗恩·阿特金说，“这就像最好的老年体验”。他在位于加州圣塔安那的Bud and Bloom大麻商店的里屋接受了美联社记者的采访。
医用大麻在美国大多数州都已经合法化。包括加州在内的10个州允许21岁以上人群将大麻用于非医疗目的。
但是，美国联邦政府依然禁止大麻使用，即使大麻在全美的接受度日益增加。美国综合社会调查发现，去年有61%的美国人支持大麻合法化，这一比例创下新高。该调查还发现，65岁以上美国人对大麻合法化的支持在不断增加。
许多行业官员表示，在购买大麻产品的群体中，美国老年人是增长最快的人群。老年人使用大麻来治疗疼痛、失眠症和其他因年龄增长而出现的疾病。
凯尔蒂·理查德森是位于科罗拉多州博尔德的霍罗斯健康诊所的注册护士。这家诊所提供医学检查服务，并通过在线商店销售医生推荐的大麻制品。
理查德森表示，“我想我们顾客的平均年龄在60岁左右，可能甚至要更年长一些。”
约瑟夫·科恩是霍罗斯健康诊所的医疗主任，在贝尔福老年生活社区附近开设“大麻101”课程。该课程告诉人们哪种大麻缓解关节疼痛的效果最好，以及哪种大麻的助眠效果最佳。
目前没有太多科学研究能证明大麻有助于治疗特定疾病。不过，美国国家科学、工程和医学院在2017年发布的一份报告的确发现，有证据证明大麻可以治疗成年人的持续疼痛。该研究还指出，科学信息的缺乏对公共健康构成威胁。
在圣塔安那的Bud and Bloom大麻商店，宾果游戏的胜者可以将名为“大麻喷雾笔”的新型特殊大麻设备带回家。不过，罗恩·阿特金来这家商店是为了买用大麻制成的巧克力和其他食品。他用这些大麻食品来治疗脊椎疼痛。在其他止疼药失效后，他开始使用大麻制品。
阿特金指出，他的医生没有建议他尝试医用大麻。但是他们也没有警告他不能使用大麻。
Bud and Bloom商店出售的产品涵盖用大麻制成的药片和饮料。该商店还出售更为传统的大麻植物原料，这通常被称为大麻叶。
70岁的阿黛尔·弗拉谢拉买了一些用大麻制成的糖果。她说这些糖果有助于缓解她的关节炎疼痛。
她说，“我不想用阿片类药物。”她补充说，她年轻时经常吸食大麻。
她说，“我大概18、19或20岁的时候经常这样做。后来我结婚怀孕后，就不再吸食大麻了。”
她在几年前再次开始吸食大麻。但是最近，和其他许多老年人一样，她更喜欢食用大麻制成的食品，而不是吸食大麻。
芮妮·李是另一名年轻时曾吸食大麻的老年人。她在超过12年之前复吸。当时，她刚做完脑部手术并接受了其他重要的治疗。她说她“每天吃10种药，每日4次。”
她还说，“我并没有好转。”因此，她询问医生是否可以尝试医用大麻。他们说可以。李说，医用大麻结束了她的痛苦。
李住在昂贵的美国旧金山湾区的退休社区，2012年她在那里开设了罗斯摩尔医用大麻俱乐部。现在，她的俱乐部拥有超过1000名会员。俱乐部会举办特别活动，支持大麻使用的医生和护士会在这里进行演讲。
加里·斯摩尔是加州大学洛杉机分校的精神病学和老龄化教授。他说，和李差不多年龄的人，即65岁及以上人群，是美国使用大麻群体中增长速度最快的人群。
他说，需要就大麻对老年人的影响进行更多研究。他还说，虽然大麻可以通过缓解疼痛和其他疾病来改善生活质量，但是使用不慎可能会引发危险。
斯摩尔说，使用大麻可能为老年人带来危险的副作用。大麻使用过量会导致记忆问题和眩晕。而眩晕会导致跌倒。
迪克·瓦茨不得不自已吸取这个教训。这位已退休的新泽西建筑工人在拉古纳伍兹村有一处冬季住宅。他在70岁初头时开始出现睡眠问题。他在所参加的一个课程上了解到，大麻可能有助于睡眠。因此，他买了一个用大麻制成的糖果棒。他马上吃完了一整根。
瓦茨笑着说，“伙计，那几乎要了我的命。”
现在，如果他睡眠不好，他会在睡觉前吃一小块糖果。他说他早上醒来时头脑清醒，而且充满能量。
他说，他会确保年纪小的孙子们接触不到这种大麻糖果。
多萝西·甘迪报道。
皮特·穆斯托报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
