"It isn't doing any harm", one tells me, "Alcohol's much worse."  “这又没什么害处，”其中一人跟我说，“酒精比这可怕多了。”

　　Others would really like their children to stop but are at their wits end.  有的父母想阻止孩子却无计可施。

　　"It's OK", they say, "but not in the house, not on weekdays, or only after you've done your homework." “没问题，”他们说，“但不要在房间里抽”，“不要在工作日抽”，或者，“把作业做完才行”。

　　I don't envy them and no doubt the scientific study reported this week will fuel their worries.  我并不羡慕他们，而且本周公布的科研报告无疑会加重他们的担心。

　　It finds that, true to the stoner stereotype, cannabis users have problems with memory, attention and processing information.  报告表明，吸食大麻的人和所有瘾君子一样，会记忆力衰退，注意力无法集中，处理信息的能力下降。

　　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.  更令人担忧的是，未满18岁就开始吸食大麻会使智商平均下降8%，就算之后不再吸食，其造成的危害仍将继续。

　　Cannabis users I know usually want to chill out, escape stress and access a state of mellow relaxation.  我认识的人里，有人抽大麻是想借此放松，逃避压力，沉浸在半梦半醒的状态中。

　　Some say it's natural, a herb, not a drug, an alternative to harried modern living.  有人认为像这样不用药物，而靠药草在忙碌现代生活中偷得片刻清闲是正常可取的方式。

　　In fact, some believe, it's rather like meditation.  还有人觉得这相当于冥想。

　　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个即为饮酒戒。

　　This isn't a rigorous prohibition, and Buddhists aren't always strictly teetotal or drug-free.  这并非是什么严格的戒律，佛教徒也并非始终滴酒不沾，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.  这是一个信条，鼓励人们不要喝酒、吸毒，因为它们会麻痹神经，使人精神恍惚。

　　The positive counterpart of the precept is the practice of mindfulness,  另一个和此类似的理念也对我们十分有益，即正念。

　　the capacity to be fully present and attentive to whatever's happening in our experience.  它要求我们有意识地觉察自己正在经历的事情。

　　In other words, Buddhism posits a choice in our mental lives  换句话说，佛教让我们在精神上做出选择，

　　between avoiding what's happening if it's difficult or troubling, and acknowledging or even accepting it.  是避开困难麻烦的事情，还是承认并接受它。

　　People who use drugs to circumvent serious emotional difficulties are choosing avoidance,  选择用药物来回避烦恼的人就是在选择逃避，

　　and the work of therapists is helping them to find alternatives to escaping their problems.  精神治疗就是在帮助他们找到回避问题的其它方法。

　　But the Buddhist perspective is also relevant to those for whom smoking cannabis is just an enjoyable way to relax and be with friends. 但是佛家思想对那些为了和朋友们寻欢作乐而抽大麻的人同样有效。

　　This has become increasingly acceptable because it seems harmless. 吸食大麻由于危害性小，已被越来越多人接受。

　　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，对青少年而言，这样的观念并不正确。

　　If the research withstands scrutiny, laissez faire attitudes will have to change.  如果此研究能通过严格验证，人们则必须改变自己放任的态度。

　　But alongside physiological dangers are the emotional and psychological effects of drug use.  吸毒不仅仅危害人们的生理健康，还危害人们的心理健康。

　　The fundamental choice we all face  我们最终要面临一项选择：

　　is whether to inhabit a haze filled by dope smoke or some other form of sedative, intoxicant, entertainment or distraction,  是被毒品、镇静剂、酒精和各项娱乐包围，

　　or to engage with our lives wholeheartedly, with all their frustrations and all their beauty. 还是坦然面对所有快乐和忧愁，用心生活。