Back to life thanks to cannabis
After a brutal attack, Mich loses his right eye. What remains is far more than a physical injury: pressure in his head, tinnitus, sleep and concentration problems, depression, and emotional instability that pushes even his family to their limits. Only medical cannabis fundamentally changes his everyday life.
The evening that changed everything
On April 7, 2012, Mich's life was turned upside down. It was his 26th birthday. "I wanted to celebrate with my wife, friends, and relatives in a small pub south of Johannesburg," the South African native recounts. Then a group of men appeared, immediately making them feel uneasy. "We just wanted to get away quickly. After that, I don't mich anything."
When Mich regained consciousness, he was blind in his right eye. He underwent emergency surgery at the hospital. He had suffered a brain hemorrhage, and parts of his face had to be reconstructed. His eye could not be saved.
Vicious cycle of pain and alcohol
It was the beginning of a long ordeal. Michmind was constantly under pressure, I could barely concentrate, and I struggled with severe mood swings. "The worst thing was my emotional instability," says the now 40-year-old.
His wife, Zaldia, also witnessed how much the brain injury changed him. The couple had known each other since their university days. Mich had always been a kind, loving person. "But after the brain hemorrhage, he was no longer the man I married," she says. "I constantly had to be careful not to enrage him. But that was almost impossible."
Mich started drinking to numb my depression, sleep problems, and tinnitus. It just kept getting worse.
"We were heading for divorce"
In 2014, the couple moved from South Africa to Switzerland. Mich works in the steel industry. His company sent him to a partner company in Zug. He traveled a lot for work, and the pressure was high. To be able to function, he took medication and consumed alcohol daily. "It was a tightrope walk. I was constantly on the edge."
Their son was born in 2018, followed later by two daughters. Mich switched to the pharmaceutical industry and finally sought psychiatric help. Among other things, I was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, ADHD, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and an anxiety disorder. I received medication, but the side effects were debilitating. New medications followed.
In the end, he takes large quantities of painkillers, hypnotics, and opioids. They barely help, and the withdrawal is agonizing. This time also becomes unbearable for Zaldia. "We just sort of survived," she says. "But I knew: We're headed for divorce."
Overcoming one's own prejudices
For a long time, Mich had nothing positive to do with cannabis. He'd smoked it once with friends in high school and felt completely spaced out afterward. "Never again," he swore to himself back then. So when a friend of his mother's in South Africa suggested he try cannabis drops in the summer of 2023, he was skeptical. Nevertheless, he started taking one or two drops of cannabis in the evenings—but not too much; he absolutely didn't want to get high.
But the desired effect failed to materialize. Nearly two years later, he drastically increased the dose—whether he got high or not was now irrelevant to him. He had reached rock bottom. When he surprisingly realized that the cannabis drops made him feel significantly better, he confided in his wife—until then, he had kept the drops a secret from her. "We both had prejudices against cannabis," Zaldia explains. "For us, it was clearly a drug." But with the effect of the drops, her perspective changed. "Finally, I recognized my husband again. And we so desperately needed Mich back."
Back in Switzerland, Michtried to get a prescription for medical cannabis. But the doctor explained that it was reserved for terminally ill patients. So Michbegan using cannabis in other forms to find the best possible treatment regimen for him. Concentration and emotional control returned. "For the first time, I was able to express what I felt again," he says. "Before, I wasn't myself anymore."
Recognition instead stigma
Mich now receives medical prescriptions for cannabis. His health insurance doesn't cover the costs. Michsays he can fortunately afford it, but many other patients aren't so fortunate.
Even more important to him than the financial aspect is social acceptance. "I want to be taken seriously as a cannabis patient." Although medical cannabis has, in his view, given him back the best version of himself, he continues to struggle with the stigma. "Part of me still sees cannabis as a drug. But I'm learning to let go of that thought."
Michsays he's doing well today. Thanks to cannabis, he's been able to stop taking all his medication. He's found the ideal dosage for himself without getting high. The injury and the years following the attack haven't been erased, but they no longer control everything. "After the brain injury, my heart was like stone. Thanks to cannabis, I can enjoy life again." Zaldia puts it this way: "I don't know exactly how it works. I only know: I'm grateful and happy."
