MAPS receives $2 million grant from Colorado for Study of Medical Marijuana for PTSD Last week, fired UA researcher Sue Sisley learned that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment awarded the psychiatrist $2 million to her sponsor, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), for their marijuana study for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in 76 U.S. veterans. According to MAPS, Colorado's Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council recommended that MAPS receive the grant in late November. The state's decision followed the Council's recommendation, giving MAPS the largest of eight grants awarded by CDPHE. All of the other grantees are major research universities. [continues 451 words]
We get back to where we left off on the world of cannabidiols and tetrahydrocannabinols Much has been made recently about a specific variety of cannabis known as Charlottes Web. There was a young epileptic girl in Colorado named Charlotte Figi who benefited from oil high in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produced from the minimally psychoactive cannabis strain. There are other cannabinoids that have health benefits as well, cannabigerol (CBG) is a new favorite. CBG-rich cannabis has been found to help people with stomach and GI problems. CBG on its own has no psychoactive effect. Most of the 80-plus cannabinoids that have been identified don't either. There is an astounding number of cannabis strains and each has its own chemotype or chemical composition. So how does a patient begin to chose from the offerings at their local dispensary? [continues 590 words]
Cannabis helps prevent diseases like Alzheimer's disease and many types of cancer. Cannabis is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory substances on the planet. Chronic inflammation is the root cause of many, if not most, of the diseases of the human body. So why hasn't our government told us about the many health benefits of cannabis? Because they are prevented by law from doing so. The DEA, the Drug Czar's office and the National Institute on Drug Abuse and its employees are all prevented by law to investigate or research any of the many benefits of cannabis consumption. I strongly suggest that the readers read: Clint Werner's outstanding book: "MARIJUANA, GATEWAY TO HEALTH: How Cannabis Protects Us From Cancer and Alzheimer's Disease." Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
How to make the best cannabis choices for you and how dispensaries can help you make those choices The cannabis movement is subject to a lot of stigma in the world today and one of the biggest hurdles we have to overcome to gain acceptance is the idea that medical marijuana must be smoked to be effective. This is simply untrue. While smoking cannabis is useful for reasons we will explain later, there are several other methods of use, each with their own positive and negative qualities. Vaporizers for wax and oil, edibles, tinctures to go under the tongue, topicals to put on your aches and bruises, gel capsules to be swallowed like a pill, suppositories?? Yes, that's right folks, cannabis suppositories, hashes, waxes, flowers. [continues 626 words]
Colo. Poised to Give Her a $2 Million Grant After her research team secured preliminary approval this week for a $2 million grant from the state of Colorado to study how marijuana affects veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, a metro Phoenix doctor said she no longer needs an Arizona university to house the study. Sue Sisley was ousted from her University of Arizona position earlier this year for what she believes were political reasons after she clashed with state lawmakers over medical-marijuana research. Northern Arizona University refused to hire her, and Arizona State University has not said whether it will offer a position. [continues 606 words]
While Arizona isn't quite to the level of Washington and Colorado yet, our state is one of 16 (plus the District of Columbia) that offers public medical cannabis, thanks to Proposition 203's narrow passage in 2010. However, potential patients still need to go through a process to legally obtain marijuana. So where do you start? 1. So, are you eligible? In Arizona, you can get a card for treatment of HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, ALS, cancer, Crohn's disease, glaucoma, Hepatitis C, cachexia, multiple sclerosis, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, or seizures. Recently, PTSD was added to the list, but certification for that won't begin until Jan. 1, 2015. Also, you need to be 18 or older, have an Arizona driver's license or identification card and an Arizona residential address. [continues 310 words]
At Cathy's Compassion Center, a cancer survivor helps others with their struggle For medical marijuana dispensary owner Cathy Mead, opening up Cathy's Compassion Center in December 2012 wasn't just a business decision. Mead's father died from lung cancer, but Mead saw first-hand how his passing was made more bearable through the use of marijuana. "It changed the quality of his life," said Mead. "He could drink, he could eat, he could sleep." So, when Mead-who is a cancer survivor-had the opportunity to pass on the benefits of medical marijuana to others, it was a no-brainer. [continues 369 words]
The staff of Benson's only dispensary work extra-hard to serve their clientele Opened in July, and nestled in the heart of Benson, Total Accountability Patient Care (TAPC) stands alone as the community's medical marijuana dispensary. While dispensary manager Nikki Pinkerton said TAPC got off to a slow start, it has since gained traction as patients take advantage of top-notch product at some of the lowest prices in the state. "None of our eighths are over $50, and none of our ounces are over $350, and that's tax included," said Pinkerton. "We really try to provide the best product possible at the lowest rate possible." [continues 366 words]
Alcohol, Tobacco Use Falls, but Teens See Marijuana As Gaining Social Acceptance First, the good news. Drug and alcohol use among Arizona teens continues to drop, according to a biennial survey. Those teens are also smoking less - tobacco, anyway. The more than 48,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12thgraders who took the survey reported they're more likely to use marijuana than to smoke a cigarette. To explain, let's look at the numbers in the survey conducted by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission. (Find the full survey at azcjc.gov.) [continues 475 words]
Arizona Proposal Would Separate Medical, Recreational Businesses "I believe it's actually less likely to get in the hands of the minor because the people that are supplying it have an incentive to work with the state because they want to keep their license." The people who brought medical marijuana to Arizona four years ago now want marijuana legal for everyone over the age of 21. The Marijuana Policy Project has filed paperwork with state election officials to form a committee to begin raising funds for a 2016 citizens initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use. Arizona voters narrowly passed Proposition 203 allowing medical cannabis use in 2010. [continues 862 words]
The responding officer said he smelled the distinctive odor of burning flesh when he made contact with three people outside an Avondale home in early May. All three had singed hair and blistered skin peeling from either their arms or faces, police wrote. It's the type of scene emergency crews typically encounter when saving people from a house fire, or responding to a natural-gas explosion, but police and firefighters soon learned they had come upon a new sensation in the Valley that has caused alarm among first responders in markets with more relaxed marijuana laws. [continues 972 words]
The Arizona Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that the state's medicalmarijuana law doesn't give drivers immunity from prosecution if there is marijuana or its chemical compound in the body. In December 2011, Travis Lance Darrah, a medical-marijuana user, was charged with two counts of DUI, one based on impairment and the other based on the presence of marijuana or its metabolite in his system. A jury acquitted him of driving while impaired but convicted him of driving under a DUI law that bans driving while having a prohibited drug or its compound in the body. [continues 127 words]
The Green Halo's grow helps them serve their large clientele Tucson has spoken, and it's saying The Green Halo is the best of the best in medical marijuana dispensaries. Voted on by the general public in the Tucson Weekly's annual "Best of Tucson," The Green Halo, opened Jan. 1, 2013 as the second dispensary in Tucson and third in Arizona, has become a household name in the medical marijuana industry, and as a wholesaler of more than 50 dispensaries, its product can be found throughout the state. [continues 511 words]
The Apothecary Has Evolved Along With Its Industry If the customer is always right, then The Apothecary, recently ranked in a patient survey as Tucson's number one medical marijuana dispensary, has a lot going for it. Immediately noticeable upon entering, The Apothecary has a spacious, well-lit lobby, reminiscent of a doctor's office, where patients are buzzed in before being led to a showroom. There, a vast array of medical marijuana products are displayed-from the 14 different strains of THC and CBD concentrates to dozens of edible options like cookies, peanut butter bars, chocolates, tea, coffee, and gummies. [continues 478 words]
PHOENIX (AP) -- An Arizona lawmaker plans to introduce a proposal next year to legalize recreational marijuana before a similar proposal could get decided by voters in 2016. Republican Rep. Ethan Orr of Tucson aims to convince fellow conservatives that a voter-approved measure is nearly impossible to change once it is approved and not the way to set up a complex system of rules and taxes for the drug, The Arizona Capitol Times reported Monday. The only way to change voter-approved measures in Arizona is through a two-thirds vote of each the state House and Senate, and the revisions must align with the intent of the measure. [continues 266 words]
Now that Arizona's once-rosy budget outlook has evaporated, a state lawmaker wants to decriminalize and tax marijuana as a way to raise revenue. After seeing Colorado's experience with legalization, Rep. Ethan Orr, R-Tucson, said Friday that lawmakers should get creative about how they're going to confront the state's dim finances when the Legislature convenes in January. Revenue projections provided Tuesday to the Legislature's Finance Advisory Committee predict the state will end this budget year with a $520 million deficit and an up to $1 billion deficit in the coming fiscal 2016. [continues 382 words]
PHOENIX -- Arizona's chief health officer is proposing to make it more difficult to add new conditions to the list for which doctors can recommend the drug. The change would require "clear and convincing evidence' published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, that there is some benefit from the use of marijuana to humans for the specified medical condition. State Health Director Will Humble said that probably means multiple articles. That's a big change from the current regulations which allow consideration of "a summary of the evidence' that marijuana will either help treat the condition or at least provide some relief from symptoms. And while the current rules also ask for articles in scientific journals, there is no mandate that the research be "evidence based' -- or that the conclusions be clear and convincing. [continues 470 words]
STORY HIGHLIGHTS Republican Rep. Ethan Orr said lawmakers should get "creative" about how they're going to confront the state's dim finances when the Legislature convenes in January. Colorado officials estimate that state can raise about $175 million in marijuana revenues through the fiscal year that ends in 2017. Orr said taxes from marijuana sales in Arizona could be put twoards education, law enforcement and tax incentives "for certain industries." Now that Arizona's once-rosy budget outlook has evaporated, a state lawmaker wants to decriminalize and tax marijuana as a way to raise revenue. [continues 455 words]
Southern a Integrated Therapies Was Arizona's First Dispensary and Is Still Going Ask any medical marijuana dispensary what sets them apart from the others, and you'll likely get a number of varying examples. Ask Southern Arizona Integrated Therapies (SAIT) and you'll get one that no other in Tucson-or in the entire state-can claim. "We were the first dispensary to open in Arizona," says Susan Crownhart, operations manager. Not only does that give the centrally located dispensary a one-up when it comes to industry experience, it means they have helped pave the way for dispensaries to come in their wake in an industry that continues to evolve locally and nationally. [continues 422 words]
Editor: I have a few thoughts regarding our war on drugs, and it starts with the saying, "If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it." Well, we've got some history to learn from, so let's take a look: Alcohol: Back in the 1930s, politicians thought it was good idea to prohibit the sale of alcohol to individual citizens. It didn't work. The mafia got rich from the sale and distribution of illegal alcohol. Many people lost their lives, mainly related to gang violence, and some went blind or died from drinking homemade alcohol of poor quality. Eventually society realized its mistake and legalized the sale of alcohol to adults. It's now controlled for quality and it's taxed, which helps pay for some of the expenses of governments. [continues 348 words]
Nature Med's On-Site Cultivation Means More Quality Product for Patients Medical marijuana patients have a lot of choices when it comes to selecting a dispensary in town, but not many dispensaries can offer what Nature Med can when it comes to healthcare industry experience. As a family-owned and operated business, Nature Med is backed by owner Mike Schmidt, a healthcare professional with more than 25 years of experience as a registered nurse. His experience is combined with that of his son and general manager Jacob Schmidt, who has a background in hospitality management and nutrition, and dispensary manager Keoki Wing, who has worked in the medical marijuana industry for the last five years. [continues 446 words]
The owners of Tumbleweeds Health Center are giving it their all to inform Tucsonans about the benefits of cannabis Tumbleweeds Health Center owners Dana Zygmunt and Kim Williams have long known the benefits of medical marijuana, so when Arizona voters passed Proposition 203 in 2012, the duo decided against moving to Colorado to open their marijuana health facility, instead staying right here in Tucson. On Sept. 11, 2011, Zygmunt and Williams opened Tumbleweeds, 5315 E. Broadway Blvd., a premier cannabis health and certification center with the goal of educating medical marijuana users and potential users, whose qualifying conditions range from such things as seizures to cancer to chronic pain. [continues 491 words]
Most of an ousted UA researcher's marijuana/PTSD study will find a home in Colorado, but Sue Sisley still hopes a part of it remains in Arizona It's not as if the odds of Sue Sisley being reinstated as a professor at the UA are in her favor, but the psychiatrist hopes that part of her study testing marijuana's effectiveness in treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, will at the very least remain in Arizona. Right now, if any chance exists, it's at ASU, but Sisley doesn't know when the Tempe school's administration will make a formal decision or announcement. [continues 1023 words]
Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center on the Eastside Is Looking Toward the Future, While Helping Card-Holders in the Present "For the patients, by the patients." That's the slogan of Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center, an innovative and progressive medical marijuana dispensary located on Tucson's east side at 8060 E. 22nd St. Desert Bloom opened its doors on July 3, 2013, and has lived by a customer-centric philosophy ever since. In order to do accomplish that, Desert Bloom offers one of the largest inventories in the city with about 35 different strains. It also employs a staff that is made up primarily of individuals who are also medical marijuana patients. [continues 539 words]
A High Profile Marijuana Researcher into Pot and PTSD Loses Her Job After the U of A's Pressured Politically to Shut Her Up Sue Sisley, M.D., is nearly blind. She can't see out of her left eye and has minimal vision in her right, resulting from amblyopia, a condition she's had since birth. Her remaining eyesight "doesn't seem to be deteriorating further," she says. But in recent months, Sisley's been trying to train Penny, a rescue dog from the Humane Society, for her potentially to use someday. It's not really working out. Cute but undisciplined, Penny -- wearing a blue vest -- greets a visitor excitedly at the Arizona Telemedicine Program's Phoenix office. [continues 932 words]
Prime Leaf Offers a Feeling of Home to Local Card-Holders It's no mystery that word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, and when it comes to the medical marijuana industry, more and more cardholders are saying The Prime Leaf is the place to be. Patients enter the spacious, well-lit lobby of 4120 E. Speedway where they are greeted and seated. Local art lines the walls, a television plays, and magazines can be read. It's a soothing atmosphere such as that of a doctor or dental office. [continues 609 words]
The Legal Wrangling Over PTSD And Medical Marijuana Continues With New Complaint Filed Against Department Of Health Services Back in July, folks with the Arizona Cannabis Nurses Association were undeniably happy with an administrative judge's recommendation that the state allow post-traumatic stress disorder on the list of qualifying conditions for those who apply for a medical marijuana patient card. Well, that was July. Last week, the AZCNA filed an appeal in Maricopa County Superior Court against the Arizona Department of Health Services and its director Will Humble to challenge the language used in how patients can claim PTSD status. They also want cards issued sooner than Jan. 1, 2015. [continues 902 words]
While most people associate marijuana with smoking, with the rise of medical marijuana culture in recent years, marijuana-infused products, more commonly referred to as edibles, now come in more forms than you could count, from hot sauces to gummy bears. Some patients choose these products to avoid exposure to smoke, some because edibles can be a more discreet way to medicate. Then again, some people just prefer the effects via ingesting. If you haven't checked into it, you might be surprised by the sheer volume and variety of options. We picked some of the most intriguing edibles from local dispensaries. [continues 272 words]
Beginning next month, neighbors of proposed medical marijuana grow sites in Santa Cruz County will have the chance to voice their concerns before construction can begin. After hearing about an ongoing dispute between a group of Amado residents and a cultivator, the members of the County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday unanimously approved requiring a conditional use permit for marijuana cultivation sites Under the new rules, which will take effect Sept. 19, cultivators will have to notify neighbors living within 300 feet of the site before construction can begin. They must also submit a request to the Board of Adjustment, pay a $350 fee, and appear at a public hearing in order to be issued a conditional use permit. [continues 680 words]
Republic editorial writer Linda Valdez, like many advocates of marijuana legalization, points to the increase in tax revenue ("Colorado: Even the stoned can avoid taxes," blog, azcentral.com, Thursday). Let me identify a few more arguments I think are more convincing to those undecided on the issue. A recent ACLU report finds that in 2010, states spent $3.6 billion on law enforcement for arresting possessors of marijuana, diverting police from valuable areas of public safety. That same year, 20,291 Americans were imprisoned solely for possessing marijuana. Throughout the previous decade, 7,295,880 were arrested for marijuana possession. [continues 68 words]
What happens on a school campus is frequently a reflection of what is going on at home. Which is why campus calls to the cops are inevitable. Rowdy behavior, assaults, petty theft, fake 911 calls and vandalism are typical infractions that will bring badges to the door. Compared to other trouble, however, calls for bringing narcotics to campus have been relatively few in the Verde Valley. Considering the availability of so many illicit and prescription drugs and the overall number of arrests of adults in the Verde Valley for drug crimes, the public schools have been pretty effective with their drug-free zones. [continues 224 words]
Medical marijuana grower Jeff Hangs thinks Arizona's medical marijuana laws are too strict, but he isn't stressing out. After telling Today's News-Herald in May of his predicament, another cultivator reached out to him and said he would supply Hangs with marijuana at no charge. And a statement by State Health Director Will Humble this week indicates laws may soon swing in his favor. The state doesn't allow marijuana growers within a 25 miles radius of a marijuana dispensary, which is why Hangs' cultivation license will not be renewed. He previously said he was considering leaving Havasu so he could continue cultivating marijuana elsewhere, but Hangs now says he'll wait it out. [continues 458 words]
Yes, the explosion of the MMJ business means there's work out there, but are there long-term careers to be had? Last week I ended with a note that legal cannabis sales between patients is exactly the kind of law we need to open up the marijuana business to the little guy. That might be true, but for the little guy, there is no shortage of jobs to be had in the biz. All you have to do is search the Internet-something I have done quite a bit of since losing my job in the cannabis world. In fact, you don't have to look very hard at all-marijuana is big business now, and that means jobs. [continues 516 words]
There are legitimate arguments for legalizing recreational pot. But what's the feds' hurry? New Yorkers are notoriously pushy. So when the New York Times editorial board jumps on the Legalize Pot Bandwagon, the rest of the provinces are no doubt expected to join in a chorus of "Me, too! Me, too!" A better response is: "What's your hurry?" There are legitimate arguments for legalizing marijuana for recreational use. People are using it anyway, so legalizing it cuts out the criminal element and keeps casual users out of prison. It reduces law enforcement costs and can provide tax revenue for worthy public purposes. [continues 437 words]
A fired University of Arizona professor who was studying the effects of medical marijuana on military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder has lost an appeal to regain her job. Suzanne Sisley was let go last month because funding for part of the work she did with the medical school was running out and because the telemedicine program she worked with is shifting direction, the university said in a letter. Sisley claims she was targeted by conservative state legislators who disapproved of her research. Sisley had federal approval to conduct the controlled study. Sisley will ask the Arizona Board of Regents to help her find a new home for the study. She is hoping to work with Arizona State University or Northern Arizona University. [end]
By enacting changes suggested by the Planning Commission, Tucson could finally catch-up on cannabis biz Tucson last week took a step closer to allowing some big changes in the medical marijuana world, but some of the changes suggested by the advisory Planning Commission seem unlikely to make the cut. The city asked the commission, a board of appointed volunteers that advises the City Council on many aspects of where, when and how businesses can operate, for advice on several rule changes. The commission's message to the city: You're too uptight; let freedom ring. [continues 733 words]
Medicinal marijuana Medicinal marijuana [Tribune file] The head of the organization offering to fund a study on medical marijuana at the University of Arizona said he will pull the cash unless the school restores fired doctor and researcher Sue Sisley to the staff and the project. Rick Doblin told Capitol Media Services Tuesday he rejected offers by UA officials to have someone other than Sisley named as "principal investigator" for the study on whether marijuana is useful for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. Doblin, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, said his group has four years of history with Sisley and will move its funding wherever she goes. The UA is apparently unwilling to budge, however. [continues 1000 words]
As a health professional, I cringe every time I read that we should legalize another addictive substance, marijuana, because we can incur tax revenue. (By the way, I support use of THC in appropriate medical situations.) As a society, we must start making choices based on what is best for our collective health and work and life success. I urge people to look at the research. Marijuana use is known to cause chronic bronchitis and airway changes in the lungs; users suffer from impaired memory, thinking and problem-solving. [continues 77 words]
Regarding "Migrant kids, I feel for you, but go back home" (Opinions, Wednesday): I disagree with the letter writer. The combination of America's insatiable drug habit and the dismal failure of the "war on drugs" is the cause of much of the violence in Mexico and Central America. Just as alcohol prohibition escalated organized crime in the 20th century, our inability to manage our drug use is currently causing much of the violence in those countries, as well as in our country. [continues 54 words]
She Blames Political Pressure for Her Ouster. A University of Arizona researcher who claimed she was dismissed after she lobbied for her study of marijuana for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder is fighting to get her job back. Sue Sisley has filed a formal appeal with the University of Arizona asking that she be reinstated as assistant professor with the Department of Psychiatry, assistant director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program and as a researcher. And a Change.org petition to bring back Sisley so far has collected more than 31,000 signatures. [continues 967 words]
TUCSON, ARIZ. (AP) - Veterans, medical marijuana activists and scientists welcomed the first federally approved research into pot as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. But their hopes for the research were dashed when the University of Arizona fired researcher Suzanne Sisley, who undertook the study after clearing four years of bureaucratic hurdles. Sisley, a medical doctor who also taught and researched at the university, sought the project after years of treating military vets who told her that marijuana was the only drug that helped them improve symptoms of the disorder that affects up to 20 percent of those who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. [continues 350 words]
Sure, it seems cool to have cannabis choices galore, but the buyer still needs to beware By Brad Poole I lived in Germany for a few years back in the day, and one of the stark differences between my grocery store there and the ones I was used to was the comparative lack of choices. My neighborhood market there didn't have a bread aisle; it had a bread section at the end of an aisle. There weren't 15 varieties of wheat bread and 25 varieties of rye. There were one or two of each. Frankly, it kind of annoyed me at the time. I felt like I was being painted into a bread corner. [continues 608 words]
22 American veterans with PTSD are killing themselves every day. Why are Andy Biggs and Ann Weaver-Hart unwilling to find out if marijuana would help? When UA President Ann Weaver Hart unveiled a new strategic plan last year to the Arizona Board of Regents, she and other administrators made it clear this was about transforming Tucson's land-grant university into a grant-producing super-research center of higher learning ready to grow economies and minds. The strategic plan-titled "Never Settle"-was first communicated through a video that announced the plan's manifesto with images of desert, scientists and dreamers: "... We're a land-grant university that's transforming science fiction into scientific fact, rising from the sands of the Sonoran Desert ... For those who demand an unrelenting approach to teaching, research, and service, we say: NEVER SETTLE." [continues 3656 words]
Legalizing marijuana in Arizona is the solution to school funding problems that aren't likely to go away anytime soon. A Superior Court judge says the state owes K-12 schools $317 million - -- and the tab could go higher because GOP lawmakers did not follow a voter mandate to cover the costs of inflation. Colorado has the solution. The tax revenues for legalized pot in that state are expected to be nearly $188 million this fiscal year, according to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's office. [continues 83 words]
From "UA marijuana researcher fired unexpectedly" (by Hannah Plotkin, July 1) We should not be surprised. Our state and federal politicians are willing to throw our U.S. military veterans under the bus so we can continue our war on certain politically selected drugs. The DEA, the Drug Czar's office and the National Institute on Drug Abuse and its employees are all prevented by law to investigate or research any of the benefits of cannabis consumption. The above institution[s] are all huge bureaucracies and the goal of every bureaucracy is its continuation and expansion. The re-legalization of cannabis would result in huge budget cuts for all these agencies. Marijuana prohibition is the foundation of our drug war. Kirk Muse, Mesa, AZ [end]
A decision made by the Arizona Department of Health Services director will allow anyone suffering from PTSD to use cannabis for care. Arizona's top health official said Wednesday that people authorized to use medical marijuana may soon begin using the drug to relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, if a physician recommends it. The decision by state Department of Health Services Director Will Humble will allow PTSD sufferers, beginning Jan. 1, to use cannabis for palliative care -- but not as a primary treatment for the disorder. [continues 376 words]
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. [continues 565 words]
Not all dangers on Rim Country trails come in the form of four-legged critters: The two-legged variety can cause even more trouble than a hungry black bear. The Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigation and Gila County Narcotic Task Force would like remote hikers to be aware of the potential of marijuana grows. Historically, some have started as close as just a mile off of established trails such as the Highline Trail or the trails in the southern Mazatzals. [continues 427 words]
Dr. Sue Sisley, a UA researcher who had designed an FDA-approved medical marijuana study, received notice of termination from the university on Friday. She was informed that she had been stripped of 100 percent of her salary support and her position as assistant professor as of Sept. 26. Sisley said she was not given a specific reason for termination, and that she had received no formal complaints leading up to her termination. The UA cannot discuss the reasoning behind Sisley's termination due to Arizona Board of Regents' policy, said Chris Sigurdson, senior associate vice president of University Relations. [continues 468 words]
WASHINGTON - The University of Arizona has fired a prominent marijuana researcher who only months ago received rare approval from federal drug officials to study the effects of pot on patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The firing of Suzanne Sisley, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry, puts her research in jeopardy and has sparked indignation from medical marijuana advocates. Sisley charges she was fired after her research created unwanted attention for the university from legislative Republicans who control its purse strings. [continues 232 words]
Inside Arizona
