Pot researcher fired by University of Arizona claims political retaliation. Activists mobilize to fight
The
University of Arizona has abruptly 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 A. Sisley, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry, puts her research in jeopardy and has sparked indignation from medical marijuana advocates.
But back in Arizona, the research plan disturbed some important figures.
Sisley’s study was designed to involve veterans who would use marijuana in an observation facility on campus. She had lobbied state lawmakers for approval to use state funds collected at medical marijuana dispensaries to help pay for the work. When a powerful Republican senator maneuvered to block that money, some of Sisley’s allies launched an unsuccessful recall effort.
Sisley said she did not get involved, but that university officials were irate when some activists she described as “overzealous” put the university logo on one of their political flyers. Sisley said a university vice president ordered her to draft a statement outlining all her political activism, which she did.
“I didn’t even support the recall,” Sisley said. “I thought it was a waste of energy.”
Sisley still has the option of pursuing her research at another university, if she can get a faculty position -- a possibility she is pessimistic about.
“Any university president is going to worry about taking me on,” she said. “Especially at a public university, where you have to rely on the good graces of the Legislature. These lawmakers hate me.”
Even if she gets another position, the firing will set back her study. In addition to federal approvals, Sisley had to work for months to persuade the university’s independent research board to sanction her investigation. That process would start anew if she takes her project elsewhere.
“This is just going to delay everything for a year or two,” she said. “It is just another awful delay for this study.”
Officials at the American Civil Liberties Union and the Multidisciplinary Assn. for Psychedelic Studies, a California-based organization which has sponsored Sisley’s marijuana research, are exploring options for fighting the university’s move.
“What happened here is the repression of science for political purposes,” said Rick Doblin, president of the psychedelic studies association. “It is astonishing in this day and age."
The firing of Suzanne A. Sisley, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry, puts her research in jeopardy and has sparked indignation from medical marijuana advocates.
But back in Arizona, the research plan disturbed some important figures.
Sisley’s study was designed to involve veterans who would use marijuana in an observation facility on campus. She had lobbied state lawmakers for approval to use state funds collected at medical marijuana dispensaries to help pay for the work. When a powerful Republican senator maneuvered to block that money, some of Sisley’s allies launched an unsuccessful recall effort.
Sisley said she did not get involved, but that university officials were irate when some activists she described as “overzealous” put the university logo on one of their political flyers. Sisley said a university vice president ordered her to draft a statement outlining all her political activism, which she did.
“I didn’t even support the recall,” Sisley said. “I thought it was a waste of energy.”
Sisley still has the option of pursuing her research at another university, if she can get a faculty position -- a possibility she is pessimistic about.
“Any university president is going to worry about taking me on,” she said. “Especially at a public university, where you have to rely on the good graces of the Legislature. These lawmakers hate me.”
Even if she gets another position, the firing will set back her study. In addition to federal approvals, Sisley had to work for months to persuade the university’s independent research board to sanction her investigation. That process would start anew if she takes her project elsewhere.
“This is just going to delay everything for a year or two,” she said. “It is just another awful delay for this study.”
Officials at the American Civil Liberties Union and the Multidisciplinary Assn. for Psychedelic Studies, a California-based organization which has sponsored Sisley’s marijuana research, are exploring options for fighting the university’s move.
“What happened here is the repression of science for political purposes,” said Rick Doblin, president of the psychedelic studies association. “It is astonishing in this day and age."
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