The US House of Representatives approved decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level for the first time in December, the deadliest month for COVID-19 patients since the virus outbreak. While there is, unfortunately, no end in sight to the pandemic, the legalization of marijuana is definitely in sight - the US is rushing to put it on schedule, particularly after Joe Biden's election as president.
美国众议院于12月首次批准将*麻大**合法化，这是自病毒爆发以来COVID-19患者死亡最严重的月份。虽然放眼望去新冠结束还遥遥无期，美国仍然把*麻大**合法化抢先放在日程，尤其是在拜登当选总统。
Four more US states announced in November to legalize cannabis for adults aged 21 and older, adding the total number of US states that allow for adult-use consumption or retail sale of cannabis to 15. More states including New York and Connecticut are reportedly likely to turn green this year, when the pandemic in the US may still be continuing.
11月，又有四个州宣布将21岁及21岁以上成人的*麻大**合法化，从而使允许成人使用或零售*麻大**的美国州总数增加到15个。据报道，包括纽约和康涅狄格州在内的更多州可能在美国新冠肺炎仍在持续时*麻大**合法化。
Although there is no direct link between the COVID-19 pandemic and the marijuana legalization, many observers point out that this narcotic drug has long been a tool that authorities in some Western countries including the US use to maintain superficial stability in the society.
尽管COVID-19大流行与*麻大**合法化之间没有直接联系，但许多观察家指出，这种*醉药麻**品长期以来一直是包括美国在内的一些西方国家当局用来维持社会表面稳定的工具。
Legalizing marijuana is a "Western-style stabilization" measure, akin to legalization of prostitution and guns. It aims to ease social tensions and even increase government revenue by legitimizing problems that cannot be solved, especially during the pandemic, Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.
*麻大**合法化是类似于卖淫和枪支合法化的“西式稳定”措施。中国人民大学国际事务研究所所长王义伟告诉《环球时报》，旨在通过使无法解决的问题合法化来缓解社会紧张甚至增加政府收入，特别是在大流行期间。
Marijuana amid pandemic
新冠流行中的*麻大**
The pungent smell of burning marijuana became more intense amid the COVID-19 pandemic everywhere from public parks and subway stations to the dorm hallways on campuses, said Malcolm Burrell, a San Francisco resident.
旧金山居民马尔科姆·伯雷尔（Malcolm Burrell）表示，在从公园和地铁站到校园宿舍走廊的无处不在的COVID-19大流行中，燃烧*麻大**的刺激性气味变得更加强烈。
Many Americans seem to have turned to marijuana to relieve the pains that the ongoing pandemic has brought. The average sales of cannabis products in adult-use markets have increased by 25 percent this year, according to research by cannabis analytics company Headset.
许多美国人似乎已经转向使用*麻大**来缓解持续的新冠流行所带来的痛苦。根据*麻大**分析公司Headset的研究，今年在成人用途市场上，*麻大**产品的平均销售量增长了25％。
Dutchie, a company that helps cannabis dispensaries facilitate online orders, has even seen a 700 percent surge in sales volume during the pandemic, Geek Wire reported in August 2020.
Geek Wire于2020年8月报道，帮助*麻大**药房促进在线订购的公司Dutchie甚至在大流行期间看到了700％的销量增长。
"Perhaps the pandemic made more people lose hope in their lives," Burrell sighed. His home state California was among the first to legalize medical and recreational use of marijuana.
伯雷尔叹息道：“也许大流行使更多的人失去了生活的希望。” 他的家乡加利福尼亚州是最早使*麻大**的医疗和娱乐使用合法化的国家之一。
According to Burrell, there are a large number of legal marijuana shops in California, which remained open even during the pandemic lockdown. During the holidays, on San Francisco's main roads, police are often on the lookout for drug drivers, and drug addicts being killed in car accidents due to overdose of marijuana "is nothing new on local news sites," Burrell told the Global Times.
根据Burrell的说法，加利福尼亚州有大量合法的*麻大**商店，即使在大流行*锁封**期间也仍然营业。假期期间，在旧金山的主要道路上，警察经常在寻找*品毒**驾驶员，由于*麻大**过量而在车祸中丧生的吸毒者“在当地新闻网站上并不新鲜，”伯雷尔告诉《环球时报》。
In San Francisco, local authority isolated some homeless people in rooms and provided them with methadone, alcohol and cannabis to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in May 2020. This controversial measure had caused heated debate in American society.
旧金山纪事报》于2020年5月报道，在旧金山，地方当局将一些无家可归的人隔离在房间中，并向他们提供了美沙酮，酒精和*麻大**，以防止冠状病毒传播。这一有争议的措施在美国社会引起了激烈的争论。
Coupled with the spread of the pandemic, racial conflict, wealth gap and social conflicts have torn the American society apart. The question of whether the poor in the US can afford the vaccine is also increasing the social anxiety. The safety, health and psychological problems caused by these ills are remedied by the legalization of marijuana, which is how the US government faces its failure to control the pandemic and raise its revenues, Wang noted.
加上大流行的蔓延，种族冲突，贫富差距和社会冲突使美国社会破裂。美国穷人是否负担得起疫苗的问题也加剧了社会焦虑。王说，由这些疾病引起的安全，健康和心理问题已通过*麻大**合法化得到纠正，这是美国政府面临的无法控制大流行和增加收入的方式。
"More state senators and representatives are intrigued by the potential showy financial results that marijuana legalization could bring," Burrell said, who claims to be a staunch opponent of marijuana legalization. "Once the Pandora's box is opened, it will bring untold suffering to people."
Burrell说：“更多的州参议员和代表对*麻大**合法化可能带来的潜在财务结果感兴趣，” Burrell说，他坚决反对*麻大**合法化。“一旦打开潘多拉魔盒，它将给人们带来无尽的痛苦。”
Activists from the DC Marijuana Justice (DCJM) hold a giant marijuana joint to demand Congress to pass cannabis reform legislation on the East Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on October 8, 2019. Photo: AFP
DC*麻大**法官（DCJM）的活动家举行了一个巨型*麻大**联合会，要求国会于2019年10月8日在华盛顿特区的美国国会大厦东草坪上通过*麻大**改革立法。照片：AFP
Serious damage
严重损害
After extensive use of marijuana, there may be toxic reaction, including higher pulse rate, lower blood pressure, tremor, anxiety, depression, and panic. Users even assault others and harm themselves, and have persecutory delusions, confusion, auditory hallucination, and illusion, Lei Xiaozheng, a professor with the Law School of Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times.
广泛使用*麻大**后，可能会有毒性反应，包括更高的脉搏频率，更低的血压，震颤，焦虑，抑郁和惊恐。北京师范大学法学院教授雷小正告诉《环球时报》，用户甚至攻击他人并伤害自己，并遭受*害迫**的妄想，困惑，听觉幻觉和幻觉。
Long-term and high-dose use of marijuana can cause some brain diseases, severe behavioral damage, immune system suppression and neurological diseases, impairing people's cognitive functions and their ability to accurately judge the length of time and space distance, and affecting their ability to drive, work and learn, Lei noted.
长期大量服用*麻大**会导致一些脑部疾病，严重的行为损伤，免疫系统抑制和神经系统疾病，损害人们的认知功能及其准确判断时空距离长度的能力，并影响他们的认知能力。开车，工作和学习，雷磊指出。
Marijuana may also destroy one's personal development at school or work. Studies showed that adolescents who used marijuana regularly were "significantly less likely than their non-using peers to finish high school or obtain a degree," according to a report published by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in July 2020.
*麻大**还可能破坏在学校或工作中的个人发展。研究表明谁使用*麻大**的青少年经常是“显著不太可能比非使用的同龄人完成高中学业或取得学位，”根据对药物滥用（NIDA）美国全国学院在2020年七月发布的一份报告
Another study among postal workers found that employees who tested positive for marijuana "had 55 percent more industrial accidents, 85 percent more injuries and 75 percent greater absenteeism" compared with those who tested negative, read the NIDA report.
另一项对邮政工作人员进行的研究发现，与接受消极测试的员工相比，接受过*麻大**测试的员工“比被测试为阴性的员工“多了55％的工业事故，多了85％的工伤和超过75％的缺勤”。
Kristin Potter, a Dutch scriptwriter with a three-year history of drug abuse, decided to get rid of marijuana in 2020, a year when many people obtained "nothing but anxiety" amid the pandemic.
拥有三年吸毒史的荷兰编剧克里斯汀·波特（Kristin Potter）决定在2020年摆脱*麻大**的使用，这一年许多人在大流行中获得了“无非是焦虑”。
Potter recalled that when she was fully exposed to marijuana, her psychological resistance was constantly being breached, and she even wanted to look for new, more stimulating hallucinogenic drugs.
波特回忆说，当她完全接触*麻大**时，她的心理抵抗力就不断遭到破坏，她甚至想寻找新的，更具刺激性的致幻药。
"But my body issued a warning," she said. "After experiencing severe memory loss, headaches and anxiety, I realized that I needed to block the bridge to the drugs before I plunged deeper into the abyss."
她说：“但是我的身体发出了警告。” “经历了严重的记忆力减退，头痛和焦虑之后，我意识到我需要在通向更深的深渊之前堵住通往*品毒**的桥梁。”
Marijuana also brings uncertain dangers especially to females. Potter said she has seen many paralyzed girls at the pub being taken away by some ill-disposed men they didn't know.
*麻大**也给女性带来了不确定的危险，尤其是女性。波特说，她看到酒吧里许多瘫痪的女孩被一些不认识的病态男人带走。
Some Western politicians argue that marijuana is less harmful than cigarette. But Lei thinks the two simply can't be compared.
一些西方政治家认为，*麻大**的危害不如香烟。但是雷认为这两个根本无法比较。
"In some people's minds, a little marijuana is not as harmful or as being addicted to tobacco or alcohol. However, hallucinogenic loss of control and long-term psychological effects of using marijuana all lead to more specific dangers," he told the Global Times.
他告诉《环球时报》：“在某些人的脑海中，一点*麻大**并没有像*草烟**或烟瘾那样有害或沉迷。但是，致幻剂丧失控制力和使用*麻大**的长期心理影响都导致了更具体的危险。” 。
'Tittytainment'
“娱乐性”
The indulgence in marijuana as well as other social problems including prostitution, gambling and guns, reflects some Western countries' lack of social governance capacity, and their compromise to or collusion with stakeholders in these high-profit industries, said Chinese scholars of international studies.
*麻大**的沉迷以及其他社会问题，包括卖淫，赌博和枪支，反映出一些西方国家缺乏社会治理能力，以及他们对这些高利润行业利益相关者的妥协或串通。国际研究。
Legitimizing the negative aspects of human society reflects a decline in the country's overall moral standards, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
中国外交大学国际关系研究所教授李海东对《环球时报》表示，将人类社会的消极方面合法化反映出该国整体道德水平的下降。
The legitimization is also a manifestation of the government's lack of responsibility in governing the country. It shows that some US states are unable to deal with social problems, and they cover up such problems instead of trying to solve them. This cover-up will eventually lead to more serious social conflicts with irreparable damage, Li noted.
合法化也是政府在管理国家方面缺乏责任的体现。它表明，美国的某些州无法解决社会问题，他们掩盖了此类问题，而不是试图解决这些问题。李说，这种掩盖行为最终将导致更严重的社会冲突，造成无法弥补的损失。
Such "tittytainment" policy paralyzes people and masks problems, he said.
他说，这种“娱乐性”政策使人瘫痪，掩盖了问题。
This "tittytaiment" logic is particularly apparent during the pandemic, as many Western governments and companies have reportedly offered more support to local entertainment industries, indirectly encouraging a befuddled, "happy-go-lucky" lifestyle amid the coronavirus chaos.
这种“顽固”的逻辑在大流行期间尤为明显，因为据报道，许多西方政府和公司已向当地娱乐业提供了更多支持，从而间接地在日冕病毒混乱中鼓励了一种迷惑的，“幸福而幸运”的生活方式。
Several US states temporarily relaxed laws on alcohol purchases during the pandemic, The Hill reported in April 2020. In Canada, only days after closing local cannabis retail stores amid the pandemic, the Ontario government passed an emergency order that temporarily allowed the stores to "offer delivery and curbside pickup services," reported Global News in the same month.
希尔（The Hill）于2020年4月报道，美国几个州暂时放宽了大流行期间的酒精购买法律。在加拿大，在大流行期间关闭当地*麻大**零售商店仅几天后，安大略省政府通过了一项紧急命令，暂时允许商店“提供交付和路边取件服务。”
"In September, when the 'coffee shops' and bars in Amsterdam's red light district reopened, I received numerous invitations from my friends," Potter recalled. "I could feel their excitement over the phone."
波特回忆说：“ 9月，阿姆斯特丹*灯区红**的'咖啡店'和酒吧重新开放时，我收到了很多朋友的邀请。” “我能在电话里感受到他们的兴奋。”
In The Netherlands, the term "coffee shop" sometimes refers to venues where cannabis (weed, hash, marijuana) are sold and consumed.
在荷兰，“咖啡店”一词有时是指出售和消费*麻大**（杂草，哈希，*麻大**）的场所。
Unfortunately, numerous facts have proved that the Western way of maintaining social stability and alleviating social pains - by simply legalizing or decriminalizing some long-existing social problems - can hardly solve these problems fundamentally, and instead, may even intensify social conflicts.
不幸的是，许多事实证明，西方通过简单地使一些长期存在的社会问题合法化或合法化来维持社会稳定和减轻社会痛苦的方法几乎无法从根本上解决这些问题，反而甚至可能加剧社会冲突。
The policy of legalizing marijuana, guns and prostitution for the sake of stability is a palliative. Instead of putting the interests of the people at the center of national development, a national policy that puts capitalist development at the center only masks problems and may even make them worse, Wang Yiwei said.
为了稳定起见，使*麻大**，枪支和卖淫合法化的政策是姑息治疗。王义伟说，以资本主义发展为中心的国家政策并没有把人民的利益放在国家发展的中心，而只是掩盖了问题，甚至可能使问题更加恶化。
Human trafficking and sexual abuse have occurred at times in the decades since The Netherlands legalized prostitution. As a main destination of human trafficking victims in the Europe, about 58 percent of the presumed victims in The Netherlands were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and nearly half of them were aged under 23, showed European Commission's website.
自荷兰合法化卖淫以来的几十年中，有时发生过人口贩运和*虐性**待。欧盟委员会的网站显示，作为欧洲人口贩运受害者的主要目的地，荷兰大约58％的假定受害者被贩运是出于性剥削的目的，其中近一半年龄在23岁以下。
In the US, problems such as black market transaction, drug-driving car accidents and drug-induced violence have grown in recent years along with its marijuana legalization process.
在美国，近年来，随着*麻大**合法化进程的发展，诸如*市黑**交易，*品毒**驾驶车祸和*品毒**引发的*力暴**等问题日益增多。
At Burrell's college, although the orientation of freshmen emphasizes staying away from drugs, many students get addicted to marijuana. Worse still, a few of them obtain it from local gangs, he said.
在伯雷尔学院，尽管新生的入学重点是远离*品毒**，但许多学生沉迷于*麻大**。他说，更糟糕的是，其中一些是从当地帮派那里获得的。
"Some of my friends often joke about gun robbery or fraud to obtain drugs when they borrow money from me," Burrell said. "I am afraid that one day this nightmare can come true."
伯雷尔说：“当我向我借钱时，我的一些朋友经常开枪抢劫或诈骗以获得*品毒**。” “恐怕这一噩梦有一天会成真。”