Suzanne A. Sisley is an American internist and psychiatrist who is a former clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She was terminated from her position for her advocacy around ending barriers to schedule 1 drug research.

Marijuana research and termination

In March 2014, Sisley's proposal to study marijuana use to treat

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

(PTSD) was approved by the

National Institute on Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal government research institute whose mission is to "advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual ...

. After working at the University of Arizona for nearly eight years in various capacities, she was fired from the university in June 2014, ostensibly because of "''funding and reorganization issues.''" Sisley, however, claims the firing was because of her interest in studying the potential medical uses of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

to treat PTSD. Sisley has also claimed that the university failed to provide a location for the trial to take place, and that the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

was "fearful of the word 'marijuana' and idnot want... their brand aligned with this research." After she was terminated, the university released a statement saying that they had "not received political pressure to terminate any employee as has been suggested in some media and other reports." Sisley was initially focused on nonprofit drug development research into potential medical uses of inhaled marijuana and hoped to seek FDA approval of cannabis for Pain/Exit drug to substitute for opioid dependence. But FDA had been impeding this research which enabled Sisley to begin shifting focus into natural psychedelics such as psilocybin mushrooms. Dr. Sisley is licensed by DEA as schedule 1 manufacturer to farm psilocybin mushroom fruiting bodies to conduct human trials. Sisley was awarded a $2.75 million grant from State of AZ in 2024 to evaluate patients with life-threatening illness using whole psilocybin mushrooms. This schedule 1 license came after her organization Scottsdale Research Institute toppled over a 53 year old monopoly at University of Mississippi thru a series of petitions in Federal Court, and was among 1st Approved by DEA for Licensing to Grow Cannabis for Research. Sisley is currently President of Scottsdale Research Institute & Principal Investigator for FDA-approved randomized controlled trials examining safety/efficacy of smoked marijuana flower for treating pain, post traumatic stress disorder PTSD, and opioid substitution.

Research and ethical concerns

Sisley has faced significant scrutiny and controversy regarding her research methodologies and affiliations. Critics have raised concerns about the quality and ethical aspects of her studies. For instance, there have been allegations that some of her research, particularly studies related to cannabis for PTSD, might be influenced by her connections to the cannabis industry. This has led to questions about potential conflicts of interest and the objectivity of her findings. Additionally, Sisley's work has sometimes been criticized for lacking rigorous scientific standards. Some researchers argue that her studies do not always adhere to the highest methodological protocols, which could affect the reliability of her results. A particularly serious accusation against Sisley is that she allegedly manipulated veterans to obscure her role in research controversies. According to reports, veterans involved in her studies were sometimes used to promote her work and defend it against criticism, creating a façade of grassroots support while minimizing her direct involvement. This strategy has been criticized as exploitative, leveraging the credibility and experiences of veterans to shield her research from scrutiny.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisley, Sue University of Arizona faculty Cannabis researchers Living people American women psychiatrists American psychiatrists Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics 21st-century American women