Controversial Psychiatrist to Start Marijuana Trial for PTSD

the Psychiatry Advisor take:

An Arizona psychiatrist who was fired last year as an assistant clinical professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine allegedly because of her desire to conduct research into medical marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) says she will now conduct that research on her own.

Sue Sisley, MD, got some good news recently when a federally regulated Institutional Review Board approved her request for research. But in order to begin, she will need access to the federal government’s supply of marijuana for medical research purposes, which she is waiting for.

“Our goal is to collect the most objective data so that eventually it can be published in peer-reviewed medical journals,” Sisley told Arizona Public Media. She added the work will focus on military veterans.

Last year, Sisley won federal approval to conduct a research project into the therapeutic effect of marijuana on PTSD. Shortly afterwards, the University of Arizona informed her that her appointment there would be terminated, a move that created national headlines.

In December, Sisley and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies were given a $2 million grant from the Colorado Board of Health to conduct the PTSD study. However, she had been having trouble finding a university to actually house the study. She now says the study will be conducted in the Phoenix area.