The cannabis industry was built by a beloved group of activists and advocates. Dennis Peron, Brownie Mary, and Jack Herer all played enormous roles in helping patients access medical marijuana. Dr. Sue Sisley, president of Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI), has also earned a lifelong space in the crew for her work with veterans and first responders.
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The researcher pushed the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the medical potential of inhalable cannabis. Sisley recently spoke with Nature about upcoming research and how SRI figured out the best way to take magic mushrooms.
“You have to be as much of an activist as you are a scientist,” she said to Nature, “because otherwise you’re not going to progress.”
This research has required Sisley to step out of the lab and into many state houses and politicians’ offices. She has stood beside veterans, firefighters, and former DEA officers fighting for the freedom to research quality, whole, plant-based medicines. This began with weed, but she is not stopping there.
Sue Sisley is licensed by the FDA to farm and manufacture psilocybin mushroom fruiting bodies for human trials. On top of this, she received a grant from Arizona last year to discover how psilocybin impacts patients with life-threatening illnesses. The famed scientist expects this research to begin later in 2025.
Most magic mushroom research uses synthesized psilocybin because it hits the FDA dosing protocols. Sisley wanted to use organic fruiting bodies, but that does not exist yet. So, before beginning, she and the SRI executive director, Nicole Nichols, set out to find one.
The pair started with shroom tea, but the results were all over the place. Next, they turned to capsules. They easily standardized this method, but the preferred dose of psilocybin required 18 pills. Though the amount of psilocybin was spot on, this volume of capsules was deemed too much to ingest for one dose. Researchers returned to the drawing board.
Chocolate became the perfect medium for the psilocybin. It masked the flavor and encapsulated the psilocybin well–this delivery method also consistently hit FDA dosing protocols. SRI is now getting interest from researchers internationally who want to develop a standardized psilocybin dose.
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With cannabis and psilocybin research pending, Sisley is still pushing for more access to whole-plant medicine in research. She recently spoke at South by Southwest on the potential of ibogaine for opioid epidemic harm reduction. After years of fighting for patients, Sisley is a powerful force. She credits this to her years of experience.
“If you want to study drugs that have been criminalized by our government, you must be fearless,” Sisley concluded.
