alcohol—it's experienced extreme ends of social acceptance and rejection.

它代表極端的社會認可與社會排擠

Early on, marijuana use was portrayed with highly exaggerated effects. Propaganda films

早期，吸食大麻的影響被過度誇大

like Reefer Madness helped to spread claims that use of "demon weed" led to promiscuity,

像《大麻瘋 》這類的宣導片，助長了吸食「惡魔毒草」會導致淫亂

rape, and homicide.

強暴、及謀殺的觀念

But today with a greater understanding of the drug and its effects, public perception

如今，在對大麻以及影響有了深入了解之後，大眾的認知已經改變，

has completely changed to the point that 41% of Americans have tried the drug and some

41%的美國人曾經使用過大麻，

states have actually legalized it.

而且有些州也將大麻合法化。

So does this mean that marijuana is harmless?

那這表示大麻是無害的嗎?

Not necessarily. Approximately 10% of people who use another legal substance—alcohol—become addicted.

其實並不盡然。約有10%的人使用另一種合法物質而上癮 -- 酒精，

And while, like alcohol, you might enjoy marijuana without adverse effects, your chances of becoming

如同酒精，也許你能在無副作用的情況下享受大麻

addicted to it are just as high as your chances of becoming addicted to alcohol. When you smoke marijuana, THC, the active ingredient in marijuana enters the lungs and travel through the bloodstream to the brain.

但大麻就跟酒精一樣非常容易上癮。當吸食大麻，其主成分THC(四氫大麻酚)便進入肺部，並隨著血液流向大腦

Once there, THC disrupts your chemical balance, causing dopamine, the natural chemical in your body that produces feelings as satisfaction and wellbeing, to flow freely.

一旦進入大腦，THC將破壞腦部化學物質的平衡，使促進愉悅感的多巴胺在腦部自由亂竄

Although researchers are still exploring the long-term consequences of marijuana use, some

雖然研究人員仍在研究吸食大麻的長期影響

studies show that heavy use can cause cognitive decline and addiction—especially among adolescents.

有些研究顯示大量吸食大麻會造成認知衰退和成癮，特別是在青少年時期

At first, marijuana use may not seem to be dangerous, yet those nightly smoking sessions

首先，吸食大麻可能看似不危險，但對那些夜間吸食者的聚會，

may overshadow school or work performance, life goals, and even family relationships.

也許會使學業或工作表現、人生目標甚至是家庭關係上蒙上陰影。

This is addiction.

這是成癮

Marijuana addiction does not disappear on its own. If you or a loved one is struggling

大麻上癮並不會自己消失。如果你自己或者你愛的人正在與吸食大麻對抗當中

with Marijuana use, seek help today.

今天就開始尋求幫助吧