Pubdate: Sat, 21 May 2016
Source: Telegram, The (CN NF)
Page: A4
Copyright: 2016 The Telegram
Contact:  http://www.thetelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/303
Author: Barb Sweet

'I CALLED HIM AN ANGEL AMONGST US'

Paul Morrissey, marijuana oil advocate, dies at 67

J.P. Morrissey says he couldn't have had a better father than Paul
Morrissey, an advocate for an unconventional method of cancer
treatment, who died Thursday.

"He just was giver. I called him an angel amongst us. ... He was beyond.
I couldn't have asked for a better father on this planet," J.P. said
Friday of his dad, who was 67.

"He taught me so many good values. He had such a good
heart.

"It was pretty gutwrenching. He never had a bad bone in his body. Even
my friends were really affected. He was like a dad to them."

Paul Morrissey, an advocate of the benefits of marijuana oil to treat
cancer, was the subject of a number of Telegram stories regarding his
decision to forgo conventional cancer treatment such as chemotherapy
and radiation for the marijuana oil.

There were times he could not obtain the oil, and that may have set
him back then, J.P. Morrissey said.

But his son is convinced the oil bought his father years he wouldn't
have had otherwise - he was Stage 4 when diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"The oil definitely kept him alive for a lot longer," J.P.
said.

In 2013, '14 and '15, The Telegram told the story of how Morrissey
credited marijuana oil treatment with improving his health as he
battled the disease.

The Telegram spoke with Morrissey last week, and had planned to update
his story.

"I'm having a tough time," Morrissey had said last week, adding he
would explain in person.

But before the interview could take place, he died.

J.P. Morrissey noted he had started to see a change in his father's
health during the last few months, but while Paul Morrissey's cancer
spread to his bones and he lost the use of a leg, he never lost his
spirit and faith, and his sickness never filled his voice.

Paul Morrissey was a deeply religious man who grew up around St.
Joseph's on Quidi Vidi Road and spent some time living in Montreal and
Vancouver before moving back to St. John's in his 20s. During his life
worked in various jobs, such as sales, but was also a creative
entrepreneur who would devise ways to improve things - his latest
project was an automated CPR mask he was working on with a researcher.

His son said that in the late 1990s, a businessman had offered Paul
Morrissey $1 million for a concept he had for an improved liferaft
that had an outer layer that spun with the waves.

J.P. said he saw the cheque and the contract, but his father turned it
down because it would be manufactured in Ontario instead of
Newfoundland.

"He probably had $1,000 to his name (at the time)," J.P. said, adding
his father likely would have given it away in charitable endeavours
anyway or to friends and family, as was his practice.

"He would give anyone the shirt off his back."

In 2014, Morrissey's family doctor confirmed to The Telegram that
Morrissey's prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood levels had improved
dramatically and there was some regression in his lymph nodes and
abdomen, but could not say definitively if the unorthodox marijuana
oil treatment caused the improvement.

In 2013, Morrissey put his faith in the marijuana oil treatment, but
said he also relied on his religious faith and prayers.

He was sold on the controversial marijuana oil treatment after
watching a video by Rick Simpson of Maccan, N.S., called "Run from the
Cure."

In the video, Simpson claims marijuana oil is nature's miracle and
that he gave it away to about 5,000 people for free until he ran into
legal barriers.

Morrissey had also advocated for a clinical trial on the marijuana oil
to prove what he thought was its medicinal benefit for others.

J.P. said while Simpson started the movement, Paul Morrissey had
pioneered the oil's use in this province and had given people hope. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D