Xiaohua: Hello and welcome to roundtable’s word of the week. 最近呢，關于明星吸毒的話題在持續發酵中，那么今天我們就來給大家普及一下各類毒品的常識吧。
John: So first, let’s talk about the different types of drugs. These categories of drugs can include illegal drugs as well as certain types of medicines that are not illegal. So the first one is stimulants sometimes known colloquially as uppers; and there are depressants which are known as downers; and psychedelics which can include LSD and marijuana.
Xiaohua: 毒品甚至很多藥品，都可以根據它對神經系統的作用，大致分為三類，一種是興奮劑，stimulants 還有depressants鎮定劑,另外一種就是迷幻劑，或者致幻劑叫psychedelic.
John: Well, the first two stimulants I want to talk very quickly are amphetamine and methamphetamine.
Xiaohua: Amphetamine 中文名字叫安非他命，又叫做苯丙胺，而methamphetamine叫做甲基苯丙胺，又叫脫氧麻黃堿。
John: So the reason I want to bring up both of these is, one is actually a medicine, and one is an illegal drug. Amphetamine is actually used for therapeutic purposes, usually for dieting, or for ADHD. Whereas methamphetamine only a little bit different on the molecular level, is actually highly addictive and has shown to be very damaging to the brain.
Xiaohua: 安非他命是在醫學上用途很多的一種藥，可以用來治療多動癥等病癥，而脫氧麻黃堿呢，則是一種非常危險的藥物，就是冰毒。
John: Exactly. So the next one we are looking at is MDMA, sometimes known as “Ecstasy”. When I first came to China, some people were trying to talk to me about this drug. In Chinese it’s translated as the “head shaking drug”, and it made no sense, but really we were talking about is MDMA, or “Ecstasy”.
Xiaohua: MDMA或者是“Ecstasy”就是我們中文所說的搖頭丸，它是一種迷魂藥。
John: And there of course is cocaine, which I think many people are familiar with. And also there is caffeine and nicotine. They are classified as stimulants as well, although as we know, they are not illegal.
Xiaohua: 可卡因是我們知道非常著名的一種毒品了。但是呢，另外咖啡因和尼古丁也被放在興奮劑的類別當中，但是他們并不是非法的毒品。
John: Maybe they should. Let’s move on to some depressants-type drugs. One of the drugs in this group called opioid, it’s pretty much anything made from opium as well as alcohol. Alcohol is also depressant.
Xiaohua: 下面我們來看看鎮靜劑類別中的一些毒品和藥品。鴉片opioid又叫阿片應該是最著名的一種鎮靜劑。另外酒精也是鎮靜劑的一種。
John: Exactly. And so one of the most common forms of opium used around the world right now is called heroin, and it’s actually just slightly different than morphine which is used a lot in medical settings, for painkilling. It was used a lot in World War II. We saw the allies and the axis used it a lot in the battlefield. But heroin is now a worldwide problem, mostly because it is highly available and very addictive.
Xiaohua: 海洛因是由鴉片制成的，它的成分呢， 跟醫用的嗎啡也有一點相像，但是由于它極其容易成癮，現在已經成為全球最危險的毒品之一。
John: Right. So heroin basically, just to keep it very simple, is a processed form of the opium oil that comes from the poppy leaves.
Xiaohua: 簡單來說，海洛因就是由鴉片提純而制成的。
John: And now finally let’s take a look at some examples of psychedelics. This is where I think perhaps many Chinese people haven’t heard of some of these. We have LSD, some also known by its chemical compound like lysergic acid diethylamide; psilocybin, which is basically mushrooms; and then tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that is found in marijuana.
Xiaohua: 下面要說一些致幻劑，有一種致幻劑叫做LSD，這個中文也經常被翻譯成搖頭丸，so it’s mainly in Chinese the equivalent of “Ecstasy”, but I don’t think they are the same.
John: No, they are actually very, very different. MDMA and LSD are very different. MDMA can cause psychedelic effects, but in the brain, they work in very very different ways. And “Ecstasy” can actually be dangerous because it can damage the part of your brain that produces happiness and euphoria, whereas LSD has shown to have no negative side effect on the brain itself.
Xiaohua: I see. 致幻劑當中還有psilocybin又叫做蘑菇，還有THC也就是我們常說的大麻。
John: As you can see from all of this, there is in fact very fine line between what is used as an illegal recreational drug, and what is used as a medical therapy. We saw with amphetamine that’s used as medicine but methamphetamine can be very dangerous. THC, for example, it is now illegal, but it is shown to be helpful when combating certain types of central nervous dysfunctions.
Xiaohua: 很多毒品其實本來也都有醫用的效果，but we should stay away from the illegal ones. That’s for sure.
John: Because they are illegal, and you’re gonna get caught, and you’re gonna go to jail.
Xiaohua: And that’s all we have for roundtable’s word of the week.