Antagonist
Antagonist: How a Wonder Drug Got Sidelined is an investigative documentary by Fentanyl, Inc. author Ben Westhoff, exploring addiction and treatment, and why we're failing so badly.
Opioids kill more than 80,000 Americans per year, representing the biggest addiction drug crisis in our history.
But alcohol is even worse, killing some 140,000 Americans annually.
A medicine called naltrexone has helped many people beat these addictions. It’s better known as the Vivitrol shot, and is an opioid-blocker that also works against alcohol, often through a protocol called the Sinclair Method.
But naltrexone is slandered in the press, and ignored by doctors. It’s been almost completely 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.
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.