N
communicative and his grades slip-
ped. They took him to a few
psychologists and a psychiatrist. "No
one suggested drugs:' recalls Dr.
Firestone. Josh had psychological
therapy, but it never worked, often
because "I went there stoned."
When Josh was 17, the Firestones
found Polaroid pictures of their son
with drug paraphernalia. "He was
looking for help without even realiz-
ing it," says Dr. Firestone.
With the aid of the West Bloom-
! field school system, the Firestones ad-
mitted Josh to a treatment center.
Like an infant weaned from a bottle,
Josh learned how to live without
drugs.
Sue Moss, 17, is another West
Bloomfield Jewish teenager who
became a drug abuser and is -willing
to talk about it. Her story is similar
to Josh's. She, too, began drinking
with friends via family liquor
cabinets. Moss also slept through
class because of the drugs in her body.
Her mother, Shelly Moss-Brooks,
a day-care center director, took Sue to
a therapist for treatment. "Nothing
made sense to me. She wasn't the
wonderful person I once knew. Her
nice friends disappeared and her
grades failed;' recalls Mrs. Brooks.
The therapist recommended the
drug Ritalin for Sue, but she abused
the prescription, taking all the pills
at once for a euphoric experience. "I
became the supplier," said Mrs.
Brooks. No drug test was ever sug-
gested during therapy.
During a pediatric check-up, Mrs.
Brooks insisted on drug testing. But
the results were negative because a
special test is required to detect mari-
juana that Sue was then smoking.
The negative results left Mrs.
Brooks rationalizing when her wine
tasted like water, her daughter's
friend had orange hair, and the
money in her purse seemed to be
) spent so quickly. Finally, she came
home to a broken wine bottle with the
cork removed.
This incident led Mrs. Brooks and Ardell, Joshua, and Nate Firestone.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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