Antagonist
Antagonist: How a Wonder Drug Got Sidelined is an investigative documentary by Fentanyl, Inc. author Ben Westhoff, about how a medicine that has helped countless people beat opioid and alcohol addictions got sidelined by junk science and big money interests. "The discovery of naltrexone should have been a penicillin moment,” says Percy Menzies, president of St. Louis recovery clinic ARCA. Instead, it has been mostly neglected — and almost never mentioned in the media. Antagonist shows how Menzies, a salty contrarian dedicated to ending our national drug and alcohol crises, is single-handedly fighting this battle and persevering despite long odds.
Filmed largely on the drug-addled streets of San Francisco and St. Louis, this fast-paced documentary draws upon Westhoff’s decade of reporting on the opioid crisis, following addicted users through the heartbreak and joy of their recoveries. It traces naltrexone’s history from its creation at a federal prison in Kentucky through its battle for legitimacy against 12-step groups and a well-funded methadone lobby, to its almost complete blackballing in the media. It features interviews with NIDA director Nora Volkow, former drug czars Jerome Jaffe and Robert DuPont, New York Times contributing opinion writer Maia Szalavitz, Dopamine Nation author Anna Lembke, and many more. Through interviews with doctors, experts, historians, academics, and addicted users, Antagonist tells the story of an essential medicine derailed, with the goal of educating viewers and ultimately saving lives.
