評論
打印
Cannabis in Chile
智利大麻
Easing the agony
減輕痛苦
The state relaxes its stance on the use of the drug as a painkiller
政府立場松綁，允許大麻作為止痛藥使用
CECILIA HEYDER has breast cancer. She also has systemic lupus, a disease of the immune system. She's had a mastectomy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She has taken many painkillers, often with side effects as bad as her symptoms. Last year, in desperation, she asked a doctor what else she could take to relieve her agony. He took out a pen and drew her a cannabis leaf. “It was as if he didn't dare speak the drug's name,” Ms Heyder recalls.
塞西莉亞·海德爾患有乳腺癌同時伴有系統性紅斑狼瘡這種免疫系統疾病。她做了乳房切除手術，接受放射治療和化療。她吃了大量的止痛藥，其副作用就像她的癥狀那樣嚴重。去年，近乎絕望的她咨詢醫生還有什么藥可以幫她減輕痛苦。醫生拿了一支筆畫了一片大麻葉子。海德爾回憶：“醫生選擇寫下而不是直接說出來仿佛他不敢講出藥名似的。”
A 48-year-old mother of two, Ms Heyder had only dabbled with cannabis as a teenager. But she got hold of some leaves and used them to make tea. The result was startling. It was far more effective than any conventional painkiller she had used.
48歲的海德爾，兩個孩子的母親，僅在青少年時期接觸過大麻。但是她得到了一些大麻葉子并用它們泡茶喝。結果令人驚喜，該茶水比任何她使用過的傳統止痛藥都管用。
Inspired by her illicit experiment, Ms Heyder looked for Sativex, a cannabinoid medicine, but it was unavailable in Chile. She persuaded the government to let her import it; the drugs arrived from Europein September. The Chilean authorities say it's the first time a cannabis-based treatment has been legally brought to Latin America.
盡管她的嘗試不合法，受其鼓勵，海德爾開始尋找四氫大麻酚這種含有大麻成分的藥物，但是該藥在智利買不到。她說服政府準許她進口該藥，九月藥品從歐洲運抵智利。智利政府稱這是首次基于大麻的療法合法地引入拉丁美洲。
But Sativex is pricey. It costs Ms Heyder 2,000 a month. When her stash runs out she will have to buy more cannabis on the streets. “I don't want to go back to the fear of being arrested,” she says.
但是四氫大麻酚價格昂貴。每月海德爾藥品開支達到2000美元。當她的儲蓄耗盡之時她將不得不在黑市購買大麻。但是她說：“我不想再因為害怕被捕而擔驚受怕”。
In view of the cost of cannabinoid medicines, campaigners in Chile are arguing for the right to make cheaper alternatives. In September they won a ground-breaking victory. The Daya Foundation, a local not-for-profit outfit, was allowed to grow cannabis on land in LaFlorida, a district of Santiago. It will be used to make a painkiller for 200 cancer sufferers. The seeds were sown on October 29th. Blessed by the state, it is the first such project in Latin America.Uruguay made waves by legalising recreational marijuana use; now Chile is blazing a trail for the medicinal kind.
考慮到含大麻成分的藥品價格昂貴，智利的運動發起者為爭取得到廉價的可替代藥品而努力。九月，他們取得了突破性的勝利。達亞基金會，當地一個非盈利性機構被允許在圣地亞哥的弗羅里達區種植大麻。生產的大麻將為200多名癌癥患者提供止痛藥。種子已經于十月29日播種。多虧了智利政府，該項目在拉丁美洲是首個。烏拉圭對娛樂用途的大麻合法化引起各方態度博弈，現在智利在醫用大麻合法化的征程開辟了道路。
Nicolas Dormal, Daya's co-founder, says teaming up with the University of Valparaiso and a respected cancer clinic helped secure approval. The project includes a clinical study of cannabis as a painkiller. LaFlorida's mayor, Rodolfo Carter, is on board. “I've had a few jokes about the mayor growing his own pot but in general the reaction of local people has been awesome,” he says. “They realise this is not about personal use of marijuana...providing people with a natural, healthier and cheaper treatment for their pain.”
尼古拉斯·多瑪，達亞基金會的聯合創始人聲稱與瓦爾帕萊索大學以及一個備受推崇的癌癥醫院合作會大大增加通過的可能性。該項目包括一項大麻作為止痛藥的臨床研究。弗羅里達的市長魯道夫·卡特也參與該項目。他開玩笑說：“我這兒有幾則笑話說關于市長中了幾盆大麻， 不過總體上看當地人們的反應還是很好的。他們意識到這不是大麻使用私人化，而是為人們提供一種更自然更健康也更便宜的藥物來止痛。”。
The project may soon expand to help with other ailments. Many Chileans grow marijuana illegally and use it to combat epilepsy. A group of mothers produce the stuff for their epileptic offspring.Not everyone approves of marijuana as a medicine. Doctors and psychiatrists warn that it is habit-forming. The World Health Organisation says it impairs learning and can worsen schizophrenia. The WHO accepts that cannabinoids can have positive therapeutic effects but says more research is needed into their benefits.
該項目可能會很快擴展到治療其他疾病。許多智利人非法種植大麻用于對抗癲癇病。許多母親種植大麻用于治療她們患有癲癇病的子女。并非所有人都支持大麻成為藥品。醫生及精神病專家警告道，大麻會上癮。世界衛生組織稱大麻會損害人們的學習能力加劇精神分裂。但是世界衛生組織肯定大麻有一定積極的療效但是認為要使其發揮有益作用需要進一步的研究。
But people like Cecilia Heyder cannot wait; she has only months to live. Having seen how cannabis works, she will use it whether it's legal or not. Fear of arrest is only a slight deterrent when you're dying.
但是像塞西莉亞·海德爾這樣的病人就等不起，她的日子沒有幾個月了。已經見識到大媽的療效，不管是合法還是非法，她將義無返顧地服用。當死亡迫近的時候，對被捕的害怕已經沒有多大的威懾性。
Faced with such realities, there is little point in prosecuting people who use cannabis to reduce pain.Canada and at least eight European countries allow the marketing of cannabis-based medicine; now the trend may be starting in the southern hemisphere. For people with little else to celebrate, that is good news.
面對這樣的現實，對服用大麻用于減輕痛苦的患者起訴沒有任何意義。加拿大及至少八個歐洲國家準許含大麻成分的藥物市場營銷，現在這種趨勢將在南半球流行。因為對于幾乎沒什么盼頭的人們而言，這就是好消息。譯者：占文英
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