Weekly Address: Dispose of Your Expired and Unwanted Prescription Drugs (September 26, 2015)

奧巴馬每周電視演講：處理掉過期且不需要的處方藥

Hi, everybody. Today, September 26th, is “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.” It’s a day where you can safely, conveniently, and responsibly dispose of expired and unwanted prescription drugs at collection sites in your community.

大家好。今天，9月26日，是“國家處方藥回收日”。這是一個你可以在你的社區回收點安全地、方便地和負責任地扔掉過期的和不想用的處方藥的日子。

Here’s why this matters. More Americans now die every year from drug overdoses than they do in car crashes. And most of those deaths aren’t due to drugs like cocaine or heroin – but rather prescription drugs. In 2013 alone, overdoses from prescription pain medications killed more than 16,000 Americans. And most young people who begin misusing prescription drugs don’t buy them in some dark alley – they get them from the medicine cabinet.

以下說明為什么要這樣。現在每年死于用藥過量的美國人已經超過了車禍。這些死亡人員中的大多數不是因為可卡因或海洛因—而是因為處方藥。僅在2013年，超過16，000美國人死于過量使用鎮痛處方藥。大多數美國青年開始濫用處方藥都不是在一些黑暗的胡同里買到的—他們就是在藥店買到的。

If that’s not a good enough reason to participate in “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day,” here’s another. Many prescription pain medications belong to the same class of drugs as heroin. In fact, four in five heroin users started out by misusing prescription drugs. And over the course of just one year, between 2013 and 2014, we saw a 33% increase in the number of heroin users.

如果這還不足以成為參與“國家處方藥回收日”的理由，那么還有一個。很多鎮痛處方藥與海洛因之類毒品屬于同類。事實上，五分之四的海洛因吸毒者是從濫用處方藥開始的。僅僅在一年中，2013到2014年間，我們發現海洛因吸毒者增加了33%。

All of this takes a terrible toll on too many families, in too many communities, all across the country – big and small, urban and rural. It strains law enforcement and treatment programs. It costs all of us – in so many different ways.

所有這些給全國各地的很多家庭、很多社區—無論大小、城市鄉村—帶來了慘痛的損失。它束縛了執法部門和治療項目。它以各種不同的方式，給我們每個人帶來損失。

That’s why, four years ago, my Administration unveiled a Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan. We’ve been partnering with communities to combat overdoses, and we’re seeing some promising results. That’s why the budget I put forward this year would build on those efforts. It would make critical investments in things like drug monitoring programs, equipping more first responders to save more lives, and expanding medication-assisted treatment programs – including in our prisons.

這就是為什么，四年前，本屆政府推出了一項處方藥濫用防范計劃。我們一直在與社區一起阻止過度用藥，我們正在看到見好的趨勢。這就是為什么我今年提出的預算要建立在這些努力的基礎上。它會在諸如藥品監管項目等投入關鍵的資金，裝備更多的應對人員以拯救更多的生命，擴大藥物輔助治療項目—包括監獄。

In fact, getting smarter about how we address substance use disorders is a vital part of reforming our criminal justice system. Rather than keep spending billions of taxpayer dollars on needlessly long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, we could save money and get better outcomes by getting treatment to those who need it. And we could use some of the savings to make sure the brave men and women of law enforcement have the resources they need to go after drug kingpins and violent gangs, disrupt the flow of drugs into our country, and address the real threats to our communities.

事實上，更加明智地應對無序用藥是我們的刑法體系改革的關鍵環節。與其把納稅人的錢花到非暴力吸毒犯人的沒必要的長期監禁，不如通過省下這筆錢，通過給需要的人治療，獲得更好的結果。我們還可以用省下來的錢確保我們的英勇的男女執法人員得到他們需要的資源以跟蹤毒梟和暴力團伙，阻斷流入我國的毒品路線，應對對我們的社區的真正威脅。

With no other disease do we expect people to wait until they’re a danger to themselves or others to self-diagnose and seek treatment. So we should approach abuse as an opportunity to intervene, not incarcerate. And we all have a role to play here. Parents, we have to understand how important it is to talk to our kids, and to safely store medications in the house. The medical community has to be engaged, too – because better prescribing practices will make a difference.

我們不希望人們等到其它疾病發展到對他們構成威脅或其他人謀求自我診斷和尋求治療。所以我們應該把濫用作為干預的契機，而不是下獄的契機。我們所有人都能有所作為。家長們，我們必須認識到告訴我們的孩子們和把要放到屋里安全的地方有多么重要。醫療界也必須介入—因為更好的處方習慣會帶來不同的結果。

And as a country, we have to keep working to reduce drug use through evidence-based treatment, prevention, and recovery. Because research shows it works. Courageous Americans show it works, every day. That’s why the man I named to head the office of National Drug Control Policy – Michael Botticelli – is a man in long-term recovery himself. He talks about it openly and honestly, precisely to strike down the shame and stigma that too often keep people from seeking care before it’s too late.

作為一個國家，我們必須進行努力，通過有證據的治療、干預和康復來減少用藥。因為研究表明這有效。勇敢的美國人每天都展示了它有效。這就是為什么我提名的國家藥物監管政策負責人—他本人就是一個處于長期康復中的人。他公開和坦誠地現身說法，針對消除經常使人們到了病入膏肓才尋求治療的羞恥感和恥辱感。

This is something I’ll be talking about more in the weeks to come, in communities across the country. Because it’s a challenge we can solve if we work together.

這是我將在未來一周里，在全國各地的社區里要更多地談論的。因為這是一個如果我們共同努力就能戰勝的挑戰。

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

謝謝，周末快樂。

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