(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Marijuana Use Rising Among US College Students
The college years in the United States are a time for students to experiment. Many U.S. colleges and universities urge their students to explore a variety of ideas, interests and even ways of thinking that may be different or new to them.
Most Americans who go to college usually do so right after high school, when they are away from home for the first time. John Schulenberg believes that because of this separation from family members, some of the experimentation done on college campuses is not healthy.
Schulenberg is a research professor at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. He notes that for years, drug and alcohol use by students has been a big issue at U.S. colleges and universities.
Many movies and television shows present drug and alcohol use as just a normal part of the college experience. Yet Schulenberg told VOA that it has a lasting effect on students' overall well-being.
"The fact is the brain is still growing … through the mid-20s," he said.
That is why Schulenberg is concerned about evidence of increasing use of the drug marijuana at U.S. colleges and universities. In July, he and a team of researchers published a study. It found that in 2018, marijuana use among college-aged Americans reached the highest level since 1983.
The researchers examined the behavior of about 1,500 young people, between the ages of 18 and 22, after their final year of high school. Almost 1,000 of these men and women were admitted to a college or university, while the rest were not. The study found that about 43 percent of those questioned reported using marijuana sometime during the past year. About 25 percent reported using it sometime within the past month.
Earlier research has suggested links between heavy marijuana use and poor academic performance and mental health issues. But Schulenberg worries more about another finding of the new study. It shows that the number of people vaping marijuana doubled between 2017 and 2018. They use an electronic device, such as an e-cigarette, to combine water vapor with marijuana. The vapor contains tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a chemical found naturally in the cannabis plant.
Schulenberg says he has never before seen any form of drug use double in just one year.
The New York Times reports that vaping has been tied to nearly 800 cases of lung disease and at least 14 deaths nationwide. The newspaper also reported that police have arrested producers of thousands of illegal THC-vaping devices in three states.
Delynne Wilcox says there are several reasons why both marijuana use, in general, and vaping are on the rise among young people. She is co-chair of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Coalition for the American College Health Association.
For one thing, she says, a growing number of states have eased their rules banning marijuana use. This has resulted, in part, from efforts of the marijuana industry to spread the belief that the drug has medical uses.
The immediate intoxicating effect of alcohol, as well as the dangers of its overuse, are also clearer than that of marijuana, Wilcox says. So many young people believe that using marijuana is safer than drinking beer or other forms of alcohol.
Schulenberg agrees that more people see marijuana as safe to use. He noted that in 2018, only 22 percent of 19 to 22-year-olds said using marijuana can be harmful, either physically or psychologically. In 1995, 75 percent of young people felt that way. And some researchers are looking at ways in which marijuana may help people who are dependent on other, more dangerous drugs.
However, both Schulenberg and Wilcox agree that the science supporting these claims is lacking, as marijuana remains illegal on the national level. So the study of both its possible helpful and harmful qualities is greatly limited.
Wilcox adds that young people are less concerned about the health effects of vaping for the same reasons they are less concerned about marijuana. Some companies have advertised vaporized nicotine products as a healthy alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes. They also offer products that taste like fruit or create a pleasant smell.
But Wilcox argues there is hope for the fight to reduce these unhealthy behaviors at U.S. colleges and universities. She says research shows that school policies barring use of drugs and alcohol have been successful. And when it comes to alcohol, heavy drinking among college students has been decreasing in recent years. So there are signs students are more interested in healthy living.
School officials need to strengthen their enforcement of rules governing marijuana and other substances, says Wilcox. They should also seek ways to limit the availability of such drugs, even if they are legal in the surrounding community.
Supporting healthy behavior is also important. Colleges and universities should offer more non-academic activities that are substance-free. The same goes for creating systems that can identify students who might be at risk of substance abuse and offering to help them.
"The longer we can delay the use the better off we're going to be as a society," said Wilcox.
I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. And I'm Pete Musto.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. be away from 远离；离开；
I can't be away from you for that long.
我不能离开你那么久。
2. be concerned about 担心；对......关心；
It's a teacher's duty to be concerned about the students'study.
关心学生的学习是教师分内的事。
3. in part 部分地；一部分；
In part that's because industry is smack in the middle of the city.
这符合他的最大利益，同时也符合你的利益。
4. be dependent on 依赖；依靠；
You'll be dependent on network speed and availability.
您将依赖于网络速度和可用性。
参考译文
美国大学生的大麻使用率上升
在美国，大学时代是学生们进行各种实践的时候。许多美国高校都敦促学生探索各种对他们来说可能是不同的或陌生的想法、兴趣甚至思维方式。
大多数上大学的美国人通常是在高中毕业后，第一次离家时就这样做。约翰·舒伦伯格认为，由于与家庭成员分开，在大学校园进行的一些实践并不健康。
舒伦伯格是密歇根大学社会研究所的研究教授。他指出，多年来，学生吸毒和酗酒一直是美国高校的大问题。
许多电影和电视节目把吸毒和酗酒作为大学生活的正常部分，但舒伦伯格告诉美国之音，这对学生的整体幸福感有着持久性的影响。
他说：“事实上，大脑仍在增长，一直长到20多岁。
这就是为什么舒伦伯格对美国高校中越来越多的人使用大麻而感到担忧。今年7月，他和一组研究人员发表了一项研究。研究发现，2018年，美国大学生吸食大麻的人数达到1983年以来的最高水平。
研究人员调查了大约1500名18至22岁的年轻人在高中最后一年的行为。其中近1000名男女生被大学录取，其余的则没有。这项研究发现，大约43%的被调查者在过去一年曾吸食过大麻，大约25%的人报告说上个月曾使用过大麻。
早先的研究表明，大量使用大麻与学习成绩差和心理健康问题之间存在联系。但是，舒伦伯格更担心新研究中的另一个发现。报告显示，从2017年到2018年，吸食大麻的人数翻了一番。他们使用电子烟等电子设备，让水蒸气与大麻相结合。这种蒸汽中含有四氢大麻酚（THC），这是一种存在于大麻植物中的天然化学物质。
舒伦伯格说，他从未见过任何形式的吸毒能在短短一年间使用人数翻番。
《纽约时报》报道说，吸食大麻与全美近800例肺病，以及至少14例死亡事件相关。《纽约时报》还报道说，警方已经在三个州逮捕了生产数千台非法大麻吸食器的制造商。
德林·威尔科克斯说，一般来说，服用和吸食大麻在年轻人中呈上升趋势有几个原因。威尔科克斯是美国大学健康协会烟酒和其他药物联盟的联合主席。
她说，首先，越来越多的州放宽了禁止使用大麻的规定。这在一定程度上是由于大麻行业在努力传播这样一种信念，即这种药物具有医学用途。
威尔科克斯说，酒精直接令人兴奋的效果，以及过度使用的危险，也比大麻更明显。所以，许多年轻人认为使用大麻比喝啤酒或其他酒品更安全。
舒伦伯格也认为，更多的人把大麻看做是安全的。他指出，2018年，在19至22岁的青少年中，只有22%的人表示使用大麻可能对身体或心理有害。1995年，75%的年轻人有这种感觉。一些研究人员正在研究大麻如何帮助那些依赖其他更危险药物的人。
然而，舒伦伯格和威尔科克斯都认为，缺乏支持这些说法的科学依据。因为，大麻在全美范围来看仍然是非法的。因此，对其可能存在的有益和有害特性的研究非常有限。
威尔科克斯补充说，年轻人对吸食大麻会对健康产生的影响不太关心，原因和他们对大麻的关注程度是一样的。一些公司已经将烟碱蒸发产品作为吸食传统香烟的健康替代品进行广告宣传。他们还提供像水果一样的口味，或散发愉快气味的产品。
但威尔科克斯认为，美国高校有希望通过这场斗争来减少这些不健康的行为。她说，研究表明，学校禁止使用毒品和酒精的政策是成功的。而在酒精方面，近年来大学生的酗酒现象一直在减少。所以，有迹象表明学生对健康的生活方式更感兴趣。
威尔科克斯说，学校官员需要加强对大麻和其他物质的管理。他们还应设法限制此类药物的供应，即使这些药物在周围社区是合法的。
支持健康的行为也很重要。高校应该提供更多不会让学生出现物质滥用的非学术性活动。同时，应该建立能够识别出可能存在药物滥用风险的学生并提供帮助的系统。
威尔科克斯说：“能够让推迟使用大麻的时间越久，我们作为一个社会就将变得更加美好。”
我是凯莉·让·恺利。我是皮特·穆斯托。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
