Jason DeFord, the rapper-turned-country singer known as Jelly Roll, came before a committee formed to combat the spread of fentanyl on Tuesday. THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS held a hearing on “Stopping the Flow of Fentanyl: Public Awareness and Legislative Solutions.” on Tuesday.
Jelly Roll will testify alongside Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, and Christopher J. Urben, Managing Director of Nardello & Co. and Assistant Special Agent in Charge (Retired), Special Operations Division, United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Last November, Jelly Roll was named New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Awards and has been a huge star; selling out shows all over the world. The “Save Me” singer had an interview with Fox News and has been open about his previous drug use, even serving time for a crack cocaine offense. “I thought [drinking] was supposed to make us feel less like drug addicts. Nobody wants to snort cocaine while sober; if you do, you’re a drug addict.”
“But I had to rethink my relationship with alcohol in that way,” Jelly Roll remarked. “I never really had a problem with alcohol, so I’ll still have a cocktail, but very, especially this year, very seldom Like, special night stuff, like the CMAs night, of course we partied. But all I try to do is avoid drugs.”
Jelly Roll stated that he has never gone to rehab to address his own addiction issues, but he does attend meetings when he feels the need for support. “I’ve never mentioned it in interviews, but I occasionally attend meetings because I drink and smoke marijuana.” Jelly Roll explained. “If I’m having trouble thinking of my behavioral pattern, I’ll go to a meeting,”
Jelly Roll gives credit to Anonymous drug groups to help him get over the addict’s itch. “I just, out of an abundance of respect for the people who really got off the drugs completely and the alcohol and the weed, don’t necessarily claim to be a part of the program, because I respect their work and I would never want to diminish it with some of my actions, but AA has done a lot for me.”
His family has also helped him recover. Jelly Roll claims to be the son of a “big ole white trash” family from Nashville and that his upbringing has grounded him. “I’m very anchored in my family,” Jelly Roll said. “Being a father is extremely important to me. My daughter’s birth was the single most significant event in my life. It changed everything,” he said of his 16-year-old daughter, Bailee, who was born while Jelly Roll was imprisoned. He likens her birth to the Christian scripture of Saul becoming Paul on the Damascus Road. “It was kind of like that for me.” Jelly Roll is also a father.7-year-old son, Noah, “I’m a man figuring it out,” he added.
The two-time Grammy nominee and three-time CMT Music Awards winner stressed at the hearing that the issue of fentanyl “transcends partisanship and ideology,” noting that his right to vote is restricted due to his criminal history. During testimony to Congress, Jelly Roll brings up his drug dealing past and takes responsibility for his role in poisoning his neighborhood, saying that he was part of the problem but demands to be part of the solution.
“I think it’s important for me to tell you all that I’m not here to defend the use of illegal drugs, and I also understand the paradox of my history as a drug dealer standing in front of this committee,” Jelly Roll remarked. “But equally, I think that’s what makes me perfect to talk about this,”..“I was a part of the problem. I am here now, standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”
Jelly Roll also knows that his children are affected by the scourge of drug addiction, “Everyday I have to look at a victim of drug abuse,” and challenges Congress to take the fight against the drug to the people of America; “You need to take this to the other side of Congress and stop the demand!“, he says “I urge you to take this out of the walls of Congress, [pass this bill], and take it to the kitchen table.”
In 2021, nearly 107,000 Americans succumbed to overdoses, with fentanyl being responsible for 65% of these tragedies. 2022 witnessed an even further increase in fentanyl-related fatalities. Astonishingly, the DEA confiscated over 379 million doses of fentanyl that year, enough to end every American life.
Jelly Roll pleads; “In the past two years, I have attended four funerals for loved ones lost to recreational drugs tainted with lethal substances. My purpose here is not to defend the use of illegal drugs, and I recognize the paradox of my past as a drug dealer now addressing this committee. The essential truth is that enacting legislation to combat the supply and distribution of fentanyl will save lives.“
You can read his testimony here: Link
Let us know what you think about Jelly Roll and his mission to confront Fentanyl addiction in America? Leave a comment!
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Bianca Fights The Zombies says
Our globalist parasite government wants borders open to create drug addicted slaves dependent on government. The government is what the founding fathers warned us about.