Marcel Brunner
"I would like people like me to stop being criminalized."
Marcel is seven years old when he is admitted to the hospital due to the presence of blood in his stool and a suspicion of appendicitis.
Unfortunately, the suspicion is not confirmed: Marcel's appendix is fine. At first, no one knows what's wrong with Marcel. For the boy, it means four weeks in the hospital, alone in an eight bedroom room.
"I still remember the first time I was in the hospital. I felt so alone, so sad and so frightened. And because it was close to Christmas, I did not know if I could celebrate the Christmas Eve at home with my family ".
Marcel has Crohn's disease
After many tests, it turns out that Marcel has Crohn's disease, chronic inflammation of the intestines. As research on Crohn's disease was still in its early days in the early 2000s,
He is "... full of cortisone
At the time, the drug was considered a "panacea". I became roundouillard and really bloated because of water retention, "said the young man. At least, cortisone controls Crohn's disease for a few years.
The disease strikes again full
When Marcel is eleven years old, the disease strikes a lot again. At the time, he had to spend three-quarters of the year at the children's hospital in Saint-Gall (Switzerland) and he also received lessons.
"Doing homework and learning without being disturbed in the hospital is almost impossible. There was a lot of distractions because, for example, the nurses did not stop coming to the room".
In high school, despite his long stays in the hospital, he remains at the top of his school work and does not have to redouble a class
As anti-inflammatory cortisone ends up no longer helping it, it is quickly considered "out of treatment".
This is why doctors advise surgical ablation of the colon and half of the small intestine.
"I was not asked at the time. My mother had to make a decision and she trusted the doctors. I did not blame anyone - they did not know any other means".
Unfortunately, the operation only delayed its problem. Instead of the intestines, the Marcel's stomach and esophagus are now ignited, and a fistula is formed from the rectum to the bladder.
Consequently, the urine and the stools mix and Marcel suffers from constant infections of the bladder and the kidneys.
"The surgeon told me that the fistula could be removed surgically. But there was only one chance in two that the operation succeeded. For me, it was too little. I could have become helpless or have Need an artificial bladder output ".
Marcel's kidney and bladder problems therefore persist until he received an artificial intestinal outing (stoma) at the age of 12.
Now Marcel must always carry the stoma bag with him. He is ashamed of it - especially in front of the girls.
Some classmates also harass me: "The stoma bags were still very bad at the time compared to today. Sometimes the bag fled to school and there was a huge disorder. I was teasing and even beaten", he tells surprisingly calm.
Marcel then lies to his doctors, men and women, telling them that bladder fistula is no longer a problem - only for its artificial intestinal exit is reversed. "I hated my illness and I wanted to seem healthy. Of course, without artificial intestinal evacuation, fistula problems have returned, as well as the infections of the bladder and the kidneys". For a few years, he came out by taking pain relievers and antibiotics.
Despite his numerous absences due to illness, Marcel successfully completed his secondary studies and begins an electrician's learning.
However, he must interrupt his learning - in part because there are often no toilets on construction sites. He goes to commercial learning, successfully finished it and then works part -time in a local community.
At the age of 22, however, his condition deteriorated to the point that he decided to have another stoma inserted. He asked for detailed advice from a manufacturer and discovered that stomias technology had improved. With the new artificial intestinal outing, the inflammations of the bladder and kidneys finally disappear
Unfortunately, Crohn's disease is still present.
Marcel suffers from bad periods of diarrhea, during which he loses several liters of liquid at the same time. "I couldn't keep the rhythm of the drink. At the beginning, I received perfusions once a week at the hospital, then every day. Without them, I would be dead. In addition, I was constantly tired and stunned by constant dehydration ", he said about this terrible period. At home, alone in his apartment, he often has little strength to get something to drink or cook.
A brutal improvement thanks to cannabis
When Marcel, at the end of the twenty, again has heart palpitations - due to dehydration - and that he cannot sleep because of this, he catches a joint for the first time.
He immediately noticed how good it makes him feel good: he can fall asleep, his intestines "calm" and his complaints decrease. Marcel had already inquired about the positive effects of cannabis on Crohn's disease on the Internet.
At first, he only smoked in the evening before falling asleep, then two to three joints per day:
"But still only when I checked all my tasks and I certainly no longer needed to drive.
Due to the anti-inflammatory effect of cannabis, Marcel's intestinal activity slows down: ultimately, the organ can better use the liquid and the food given to it. Marcel has much more energy. And he must take fewer medication.
This is going well for a few years until a road check in 2016, when the policeman requests a urine test. Marcel explains his medical history and
"... that he could not piss in a tube like a healthy person".
The cop then makes a oral sample, the result of which is negative, and lets it go. Unfortunately, the policeman signals Marcel's medical history at the road traffic office, as a result of which Marcel is forced to pass a traffic test - at a cost of 1400 francs.
Marcel openly tells the traffic psychologist her medical history and explains to him that he uses cannabis for auto-therapy.
Of course, the mandatory anti-drug test is positive. Marcel underlines:
"I am a responsible person and I will never intentionally put someone in danger. Driving after a joint has never happened to me. On the other hand, nobody cares, and it is even legal to drive A car inflated to analgesics like morphine..
The road traffic office removes Marcel's driving license. He defends himself with the help of a lawyer and a letter from his doctor - unfortunately without success.
For Marcel, driving a car means a little freedom for several reasons: "The car offers me a protected space. If I have to go to the toilet, I can just stop without stress. I can quickly go to my car to my Many meetings with the doctor and the hospital. And I would need much more than an hour. "
From now on, Marcel must submit to urine tests and drug advice every month for a year. He remembers:
"I even had suicidal thoughts because of the prohibition to drive. I could hardly visit my mother, I had anxiety attacks and my health has deteriorated again. I was without cease the question: why am I punished like this?.
Marcel tells her thoughts to her confidant at the hospital and she responds immediately. A psychologist is called and Marcel receives emergency antidepressants. Marcel reduces his consumption of cannabis and ends up stopping completely. Unfortunately, with the reduction in cannabis consumption, its health problems are also coming back.
A year later: he passed the traffic test and the final drug screening test, which again costs him 1400 francs - also because the traffic psychologist is not a declared opponent of cannabis.
Marcel is required to take urine tests every month for a year and continue to follow drug advice. The latter does an unexpected good to Marcel - because he is received without prejudice, has good conversations and understood.
"Finally, someone told me that I hadn't done anything wrong. And it was confirmed to me that my life - despite the driving ban - is well mastered."
Marcel, to be able to be mobile, stopped his auto-therapy with cannabis. Thanks to many professional conversations, his partner and a stable circle of friends, he is much better today. In the meantime, he has also learned to accept his illness, which facilitates the task on the psychological level.
Since February 2021, he has worked part -time for the canton in an insertion position and has a good chance of being hired definitively.
He would also like to increase his workload. Regarding cannabis, he has a wish: "I hope that prejudices against people who treat themselves with cannabis will soon be. I hope that the medical profession and the authorities will realize that there are people like me who can only be helped by cannabis .
