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More than foot-dragging, as in veering into intimidation and harassment for a dedicated researcher doing her best to follow the evidence indicating the promise of cannabis in helping to treat PTSD more effectively than typical outcomes up to now….
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Excerpt:
About a decade ago, Sisley decided to study pot’s psychiatric effects to see if she could prove what her patients were experiencing. But, because of marijuana’s federal status as an illegal drug, this turned out to be far from a simple task.
Since then, Sisley has been fired from her job at the University of Arizona; lost a study partner at another university; and had the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs block her attempts to recruit patients for research. By 2016, her scientific study was underway through the Scottsdale Research Institute, and she finally had federally approved cannabis in hand to provide to 76 military vets.
But she was not happy with the weed she received.
The marijuana was a “powdery mishmash of stems, sticks and leaves,” Sisley said. The level of tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC, the chemical that gets people high — was around 8 percent, far lower than the smokable products at pot dispensaries that often surpass 20 percent. The research weed also tested positive for yeast and mold, she said.
“I’m astonished by that,” Sisley said. “As a physician, how do I hand out moldy weed to study subjects?”
Sisley couldn’t shop around, though, because since 1968, the Drug Enforcement Administration has required scientists who want to study cannabis’s effects to use only marijuana from a 12-acre farm at the University of Mississippi. While the director of the farm disputes Sisley’s characterization of the cannabis supplied, Sisley and other scientists argue that government rules forcing them to use only the Mississippi weed have stifled research because it doesn’t match what people are actually using.
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Much more in the article… …Happy Sunday from….
Note: Dr. Sisley has previously met with TRUCE to discuss her work and to offer her insights on our situation here. Prior to that we've followed her story for years, so impressed by her indefatigability in the face of all the pressure as she dealt with the brush back pitches and outright bean balls from the DEA. We are definitely unabashed fans.
One doctor vs. the DEA: Inside the battle to study marijuana in America
Millions of people across the U.S. can legally buy pot at dispensaries — but scientists aren’t allowed to study it.
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