2022年经济学人 墨西哥政府边称要戒毒边称“大麻合法化”(1)（在线收听）

The Americas

美洲板块

Mexico

墨西哥

Mired in meth

深陷冰毒

Illegal drug consumption is increasing

非法毒品消费正在增加

In reto a la juventud, a live-in treatment centre in Ciudad Juarez, in northern Mexico, Jenny Chavez describes how her addiction to drugs led to her losing her job as a maid, her house and her family.

在墨西哥北部华雷斯的一家寄宿治疗中心尤文图德中，珍妮·查韦斯描述了她的毒瘾如何导致她失去了女佣的工作、房子和她的家人。

The 39-year-old mother of five started taking cocaine ten years ago, but it was after she moved onto methamphetamine, or meth, a potent stimulant, that things began to unravel.

这位39岁的，有五个孩子的母亲十年前开始吸食可卡因，但直到她开始吸食甲基苯丙胺(又称冰毒，一种强效兴奋剂)后，事情才开始恶化。

“It’s hard because everyone takes it around here,” she explains.

她解释说：“这很难，因为这里的每个人都吸毒。”

Mexico is home to hundreds of gangs shipping illegal drugs north.

墨西哥是数百个向北运送非法毒品团伙的大本营。

Domestic use of such substances, however, has historically been low.

不过毒品在墨西哥国内的使用量历来很低。

That is changing.

这种情况正在改变。

Mexico's most recent national survey, from 2016, shows that 10% of people reported having tried an illegal substance in their lives, up from 7% in 2011.

墨西哥2016年最新的全国性调查显示，10%的人报告曾在生活中尝试过非法毒品，高于2011年的7%。

Synthetic drugs in particular have become more common over the past five years.

特别是合成毒品在过去五年中变得更加普遍。

In 2021 36% of users at a government network of treatment centres sought help for addiction to meth, compared with 15% in 2016.

2021年，政府治疗中心网络中，36%的毒品使用者因冰毒成瘾而寻求帮助，而2016年这一比例为15%。

Consumption of meth is doing “terrible damage” to the country, says Javier Gonzalez, who heads the addiction agency for the state of Chihuahua, home to Ciudad Juarez.

华雷斯所在的奇瓦瓦州戒毒机构负责人哈维尔·冈萨雷斯说，吸食冰毒正在对这个国家造成“可怕的破坏”。

That city is particularly badly affected because of its location on the border.

由于地处边境，该市受到的影响尤其严重。

But the problem is national.

但问题是全国性的。

According to data from the network of treatment centres, meth overtook marijuana in 2020 as the drug that most people sought help with.

根据治疗中心网络的数据，在2020年冰毒成瘾人数超过大麻，更多因冰毒来寻求帮助。

The demography of drug users is changing, too.

吸毒者的人口结构也在发生变化。

More women are taking drugs, while youngsters are having their first experience at an earlier age.

越来越多的女性正在吸毒，而青少年的第一次吸毒年龄也越来越早。

During the pandemic consumption of illegal drugs rose among 15-24 year olds.

在疫情期间，15-24岁青少年的非法毒品消费量上升。

Analysts trace the increase in drug use to a decision around a decade ago by the Sinaloa gang, which is Mexico's main producer of synthetic drugs, to sell their wares at home as well as to traffic them.

分析人士认为，毒品使用量的增加源于大约十年前，墨西哥合成毒品的主要生产商锡那罗亚帮派决定在国内销售他们的产品，并进行走私。

It works as a recruitment tool.

它起到了增长工具的作用。