​​​​​​​Susan Evans Grove

"Bender" 2020

 

Starting in the 1990’s certain pharmaceutical companies began a campaign to convince the medical community (and the public) that opioids were non-addictive and a great choice for pain management. Come to find out it was a lie. By 2018 data showed that 128 people die EVERY DAY after overdosing on opioids. 

 

Six companies are responsible for the distribution of 75 percent of the pills during this period: McKesson Corp., Walgreens, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, CVS and Walmart. Three companies manufactured 88 percent of the opioids: SpecGx, a subsidiary of Mallinckrodt; ­Actavis Pharma; and Par Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals. All 10 of these companies are now being sued in federal courts and by roughly 2,000 cities, towns, and counties across the country that have felt the effects of this epidemic. The response from pharma is to blame the prescribing doctors and the patients themselves. God Bless America!

*note: These cases are being settled for billions of dollars. Not one of them has brought back a victim.

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"Bender" is made from the cork core of a found practice baseball coated with ground oxycodone and glitter. It is displayed hanging. The term “bender” in baseball refers to a pitch that is thrown with a spin so that it bends away from home plate at the last minute. This pitch is also referred to as a curve ball or breaking ball.