Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jul 2014
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2014 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: Brad Poole
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/people/Sisley

RESEARCH RUCKUS

Even With the Firing of Professor Sisley, the University of Arizona 
Can't Stand in the Way of Cannabis Research

When the University of Arizona abruptly fired Assistant Professor Sue 
Sisley recently, some people decried the move as a major stumbling 
block for cannabis research.

Sisley, a physician who hopes to study the use of smoked cannabis to 
treat post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, wasn't told why her 
contract wasn't renewed, but she was assured that it was not for job 
performance. She suspects it was because of her public advocacy for 
marijuana research and has since hired an attorney to try to preserve 
her job-and her PTSD study.

But her firing (her contract is up this fall) would not be a death 
knell for cannabis research-even hers. Sisley's study will likely 
live on, if not at UA then elsewhere through the Multidisciplinary 
Association for Psychedelic Studies.

MAPS is a California nonprofit organization at the forefront of 
marijuana research, or at least behind it pushing fervently. MAPS is 
the sponsoring organization behind Sisley's PTSD study. Despite her 
setback, cannabis research is on the rise, said Brad Burge, MAPS 
communications director.

"There is a lot of research happening, and that needs to be 
recognized and it needs to be celebrated," Burge said.

But almost all of that research has been on isolated components of 
cannabis, not the whole plant. At least two cannabis-related drugs 
are on the market today-Sativex and Marinol.

Marinol is synthetic THC. It is used for appetitive stimulant and 
nausea suppressant (yes, it makes you high, the same way regular THC 
does). It is manufactured in a laboratory, not extracted from the 
plant. Sativex is a synthetic cannabinoid drug approved originally 
for muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis, though the 
manufacturer is studying its use as a pain reliever. Both drugs 
ignore the "entourage effect" of whole-plant cannabis. Up to now, 
researchers have been mostly ignoring the collective effects of 
numerous chemical compounds in cannabis.

"So we're looking for a specific key, instead of a set of keys," Burge said.

There are more than 80 cannabinoids in marijuana, including the 
commonly known ones THC and cannabidiol (CBD). Researchers are 
beginning to understand that the interactions of these molecules 
sometimes offer benefits they don't individually bring.

For example, CBD counteracts the psychoactive effects of THC. That 
means a patient using Marinol might get very high from the drug, 
whereas a patient using a similar dose of THC from whole-plant 
marijuana wouldn't, if the strain contains a high dose of CBD. There 
are also more than 100 terpenes in cannabis, and researchers are 
beginning to see that these chemicals contribute to the entourage effect.

Burge cites two main reasons for this focus on isolates-tradition and money.

Western medicine, for various reasons, has focused almost entirely on 
extracting specific compounds for specific results. Eastern medicine, 
which includes a wider use of herbs and other natural remedies, 
doesn't. The bigger reason is the almighty dollar, Burge said.

Pharmaceutical companies can't patent marijuana, but they can patent 
a process to make synthetic compounds found in marijuana, so that's 
where they look, he said.

Ultimately, he believes the PTSD study will happen, and MAPS is 
looking at ways to help. He called Sisley's PTSD study a "wedge" that 
could leverage other whole-plant research. In March, Sisley made 
national news by getting requisite approval from the Health and Human 
Services Department. That approval forces the National Institute on 
Drug Abuse, which grows and dispenses marijuana for research, to 
supply her. NIDA told Sisley then that it doesn't yet have the supply 
of cannabis she needs, Burge said.

It will be January before the marijuana is available, according to 
Burge, but even if that doesn't happen, the fight for this study will 
not be over. MAPS is considering other options, including moving the 
study to Colorado or finding an alternate investigator.

"Regardless, we're moving forward," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom