Speaking Engagements
“One of the world’s leading experts on fentanyl.” -BBC
Awardee: 2023 Norman E. Zinberg Memorial Lecture Award, Harvard Medical School
Read Westhoff’s testimony to U.S. Congress
Ben Westhoff is an award-winning investigative reporter and author of the highly-acclaimed, bestselling book, Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Created the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Crisis. He was the first journalist to infiltrate a Chinese fentanyl lab, and now travels the country speaking about how to slow the opioid epidemic.
Westhoff has advised top government officials on the fentanyl crisis, including at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the U.S. Ambassador to China, the DEA, and the State Department. He was interviewed for full, dedicated episodes of Fresh Air and the Joe Rogan Experience, has written about the fentanyl crisis for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and the Los Angeles Times. He was a subject of documentaries for Vice News and the National Geographic channel, and has spoken as an expert commentator for CNN, NPR, BBC, and CBC.
Westhoff appears as a keynote speaker at summits, conferences, and behavioral health events, from Denver to Kansas City to Mexico City. His presentation includes never-published photos from his infiltration of Chinese drug operations, and his street-level reporting from America’s hardest-hit locations. He focuses on all aspects of the drug crisis, including addiction, recovery, effects on youth, harm reduction efforts, law enforcement actions, and new drugs appearing on streets and in classrooms.
Westhoff shows how fentanyl became the worst drug crisis in American history, and what we can do about it.
For more information: ben.westhoff@gmail.com
Testimonials
“Thank you for your presentation through NCADD. You are very informed but you also deliver in a no-nonsense way which made this so very enjoyable.” -Carol Boyer, Chief Strategy and Engagement Officer, Hope House Treatment Centers
"Very excellent presentation, and appreciate your wealth of knowledge on the subject." -George Nealy, Program Director at Gaudenzia, Inc.
"Thank you for joining us for the conference. It was a success. Everyone is still talking about you and the information shared." -Amanda Oakes, Prevention Services Director, Danville-Pittsylvania Community Services
“Truth! Prevent, treat, support safety. Thank you for your work! Sing it from the rooftops." -Justine Muyu, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program Manager