To say that St. Louis–based author Ben Westhoff didn’t find the subject of his new project in a typical way would be a major understatement. In fact, Westhoff first met Percy Menzies, the protagonist of his new film, Antagonist: How a Wonder Drug Got Sidelined, when Menzies approached him at a book signing to tell him he was all wrong.
It was 2019, and Westhoff was riding high on the publication of Fentanyl Inc., his investigation into the supply chain profiting from the synthetic drugs that had transformed the opioid epidemic and led to record overdose deaths. The book earned international press coverage for Westhoff’s journey into a black market fentanyl factory in China, but it also touched on treatment for opioid addiction. And Menzies was not impressed.
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“He was like, ‘You just have no idea what you’re talking about,’” Westhoff recalls. “And I was like, Who is this guy?”
“This guy” was a pharmacist and the president of the St. Louis recovery clinic ARCA. He was also one of the foremost advocates for Naltrexone, an opioid blocker (sometimes known as the Vivitrol shot) that also works on alcohol. Originally a pharmaceutical rep tasked with pushing Naltrexone for DuPont, Menzies encountered so many roadblocks, he finally set up his own clinic to administer it.
After looking into Menzies’ story, observing his clinic, and speaking with his patients, Westhoff has become a believer. His film is an attempt to tell Menzies’ story, but also to rehabilitate Naltrexone’s image, which he says Menzies has been prescribing to great effect to patients in need.
“I wouldn’t say we’re in lock step about everything exactly,” he says of Menzies, “but I 100 percent agree with him that this medicine is completely overlooked and has been kind of shoved aside by big money interests and junk science.” He adds, “I could walk into Percy’s clinic and meet like 10 people just sitting in the lobby, practically, who had benefited from it. It just seemed to me that there was this disconnect.”
Westhoff says Naltrexone’s bad rap comes largely because it hasn’t been subject to the kind of large-scale studies as methadone or buprenorphine. There is also some suggestion that, by making it harder to get high from opioids, a medication like Naltrexone could encourage someone with dependency to take more opioids, and that could lead to an overdose.
It’s worth noting that it is not the same as Disulfiram (previously known as Antabuse), which makes people sick if they drink alcohol—one way of curing its dangerous siren. With Naltrexone, “You still drink; it’s just that you take it before a night of drinking, and instead of having 10 drinks, you’ll be satiated after just one or two,” Westhoff says.
It’s different, however, with opioid use disorder: The opioids are blocked; the drugs no longer work. That necessitates a cold-turkey approach. Even so, Westhoff says it proved to be a lifeline for some patients, and Menzies’ clinic on Olive Street became a hub for people who needed help overcoming their dependency. Some of them are now featured in the film.
Others helped fund it. Through GoFundMe and other avenues, Westhoff says he was able to tap into the network of people who’d been helped by Naltrexone and wanted to let the world know about it. “There’s a real community that is interested in having this story told,” he says.
A Minnesota native, Westhoff worked for the Riverfront Times before becoming music editor of the LA Weekly before pivoting to books. In addition to Fentanyl Inc., he’s written books about the Southern rap scene, dive bars, and the tragic death of the youth he befriended through Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Louis. Antagonist is his first film.
Westhoff acknowledges the technical aspects came with a steep learning curve. In addition to long being interested in doing a Hollywood project, he says he was drawn to film as a medium after becoming aware of archival footage from the federal prison in Kentucky where Naltrexone was first developed (using, Westhoff acknowledges, pre-Tuskegee-style experimentation that would not pass muster today). It wasn’t always easy. Unlike an author toiling in relative solitude, this project meant coordinating with dozens of people, from the composer who wrote the film’s original score to the various directors of photography he hired for locations around the U.S.
“There’s a ton of people involved,” he says, “and just having to compromise and not getting your way all the time is definitely something new.”
Antagonist will debut at a location more commonly used by authors than filmmakers: The St. Louis County Library’s Clark Family Branch (1640 South Lindbergh). After a “red carpet” kicking off at 5:30 p.m., Westhoff has planned a panel discussion featuring himself and Menzies, along with other voices, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The film follows at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but RSVPs are encouraged.
