Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid email address
SIGN UP
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice
Thanks for signing up to the
Inside Washington email
{{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}
Rapper and country music star Jelly Roll gave powerful Senate testimony on the country’s fentanyl crisis and called for tougher legislation to curb it.
The musician, whose real name is Jason DeFord, told the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday how he had been personally impacted by the drug.
“I’ve attended more funerals than I care to share with y’all, this committee. I could sit here and cry for days about the caskets I’ve carried of people I love dearly, deeply, in my soul,” he said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 112,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12 months ending in May 2023, a 2,700 increase from the previous year.
The CDC says that fentanyl and synthetic opioids were responsible for the vast majority of those deaths.
RECOMMENDED
Why Gillian Anderson’s ‘vagina’ dress was problematic | Amelia Loulli
Undo
Beloved Seinfeld star dies after brief illness, aged 71
Undo
URUHIME MOMOKO
Bulk buying rush at Japan Donki, 40s women face changedURUHIME MOMOKO| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Superfood Reviews
Do This Everyday to Ease Eczema Flare-UpsSuperfood Reviews| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Powered by Taboola Powered by Taboola
Jason ‘Jelly Roll’ DeFord testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee on 11 January 2024
" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/01/12/18/GettyImages-1918189103.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/01/12/18/GettyImages-1918189103.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/01/12/18/GettyImages-1918189103.jpg" data-gallery-length="2" class="i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content" pinger-seen="true">
Jason ‘Jelly Roll’ DeFord testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee on 11 January 2024
(Getty Images)
Mr DeFord urged US senators to pass the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which is a “sanctions and anti-money laundering bill to help combat the country’s fentanyl crisis by targeting opioid traffickers devastating America’s communities.”
Promoted stories
American Express
Card for business. Rewards for leisure.American Express Sign Up
Undo
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
“It is time for us to be proactive and not reactive,” he told the committee.“I truly believe in my heart that this bill will stop the supply and can help stop the supply of fentanyl.”
The musician also openly addressed his history of drug-related crimes.
“I believed when I sold drugs, genuinely, that selling drugs was a victimless crime,” he said while acknowledging that he had once been “part of the problem.”
And he added: “I brought my community down. I hurt people. I was the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about, just like these drug dealers are doing right now when they’re mixing every drug on the market with fentanyl. And they’re killing the people we love.”
The two-time Grammy nominee continued, “I am here now standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”
More about Fentanyl
Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
3Comments
1/ 2Jelly Roll shares powerful congressional testimony on fentanyl crisis
Jelly Roll shares powerful congressional testimony on fentanyl crisis
Jason ‘Jelly Roll’ DeFord testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee on 11 January 2024
Getty Images
Jelly Roll shares powerful congressional testimony on fentanyl crisis
Jason ‘Jelly Roll’ DeFord testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee on 11 January 2024
Getty Images
Promoted stories
Hair’s Rich
Watsons-bought "Japan's hair growth gel" worked so wellHair’s Rich| Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Body Design News
People who can't lose weight may not have tried "this"!Body Design News| Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
Best Hearing Aids
Seniors Born Before 1967 Are Eligible For Invisible Hearing AidsBest Hearing Aids| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Read More Comments
Collapse Comments
？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Subscribe
Already subscribed? Log in