評論
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Some of the parents I know with teenage children who use cannabis are fairly relaxed about what's happening.
在我認識的父母中，有些并不在意孩子吸食大麻。
"It isn't doing any harm", one tells me, "Alcohol's much worse."
“這又沒什么害處，”其中一人跟我說，“酒精比這可怕多了。”
Others would really like their children to stop but are at their wits end.
有的父母想阻止孩子卻無計可施。
"It's OK", they say, "but not in the house, not on weekdays, or only after you've done your homework."
“沒問題，”他們說，“但不要在房間里抽”，“不要在工作日抽”，或者，“把作業(yè)做完才行”。
I don't envy them and no doubt the scientific study reported this week will fuel their worries.
我并不羨慕他們，而且本周公布的科研報告無疑會加重他們的擔心。
It finds that, true to the stoner stereotype, cannabis users have problems with memory, attention and processing information.
報告表明，吸食大麻的人和所有癮君子一樣，會記憶力衰退，注意力無法集中，處理信息的能力下降。
Most worryingly, the IQs of people who start using cannabis before 18 drop by an average 8%, and the damage persists even if they later stop.
更令人擔憂的是，未滿18歲就開始吸食大麻會使智商平均下降8%，就算之后不再吸食，其造成的危害仍將繼續(xù)。
Cannabis users I know usually want to chill out, escape stress and access a state of mellow relaxation.
我認識的人里，有人抽大麻是想借此放松，逃避壓力，沉浸在半夢半醒的狀態(tài)中。
Some say it's natural, a herb, not a drug, an alternative to harried modern living.
有人認為像這樣不用藥物，而靠藥草在忙碌現(xiàn)代生活中偷得片刻清閑是正常可取的方式。
In fact, some believe, it's rather like meditation.
還有人覺得這相當于冥想。
However, Buddhism has five main ethical precepts and the last is abstaining from intoxicants.
可是，佛教的五大戒律中最后一個即為飲酒戒。
This isn't a rigorous prohibition, and Buddhists aren't always strictly teetotal or drug-free.
這并非是什么嚴格的戒律，佛教徒也并非始終滴酒不沾，不吸食毒品，
It's a principle of training, as we say, that encourages people to avoid drink and drugs because they cloud the mind and cause heedlessness.
這是一個信條，鼓勵人們不要喝酒、吸毒，因為它們會麻痹神經(jīng)，使人精神恍惚。
The positive counterpart of the precept is the practice of mindfulness,
另一個和此類似的理念也對我們十分有益，即正念。
the capacity to be fully present and attentive to whatever's happening in our experience.
它要求我們有意識地覺察自己正在經(jīng)歷的事情。
In other words, Buddhism posits a choice in our mental lives
換句話說，佛教讓我們在精神上做出選擇，
between avoiding what's happening if it's difficult or troubling, and acknowledging or even accepting it.
是避開困難麻煩的事情，還是承認并接受它。
People who use drugs to circumvent serious emotional difficulties are choosing avoidance,
選擇用藥物來回避煩惱的人就是在選擇逃避，
and the work of therapists is helping them to find alternatives to escaping their problems.
精神治療就是在幫助他們找到回避問題的其它方法。
But the Buddhist perspective is also relevant to those for whom smoking cannabis is just an enjoyable way to relax and be with friends.
但是佛家思想對那些為了和朋友們尋歡作樂而抽大麻的人同樣有效。
This has become increasingly acceptable because it seems harmless.
吸食大麻由于危害性小，已被越來越多人接受。
However, the new research suggests that, in the case of teenage cannabis use, that's far from the truth.
然而，最新研究表明，對青少年而言，這樣的觀念并不正確。
If the research withstands scrutiny, laissez faire attitudes will have to change.
如果此研究能通過嚴格驗證，人們則必須改變自己放任的態(tài)度。
But alongside physiological dangers are the emotional and psychological effects of drug use.
吸毒不僅僅危害人們的生理健康，還危害人們的心理健康。
The fundamental choice we all face
我們最終要面臨一項選擇：
is whether to inhabit a haze filled by dope smoke or some other form of sedative, intoxicant, entertainment or distraction,
是被毒品、鎮(zhèn)靜劑、酒精和各項娛樂包圍，
or to engage with our lives wholeheartedly, with all their frustrations and all their beauty.
還是坦然面對所有快樂和憂愁，用心生活。
