Senate Hears from Jelly Roll on the Need to Cut Off Fentanyl Supply from China and Mexico

At a Senate hearing on Thursday, Jelly Roll, a rapper who switched to country music, emphasized the need to address the fentanyl crisis urgently.

The artist, who goes by Jason DeFord in real life, appeared before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, led by Ohio's Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Jelly Roll asked Congress to approve Brown's Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, which would use financial penalties to target drug smugglers and cut off the supply of opioids from China and Mexico. Jelly Roll, who was involved in drug dealing and other criminal activities from 14 years old and spent a decade in and out of correctional facilities, admitted he was part of the problem but now wants to be part of the solution. "I brought my community down. I hurt people," he said in his testimony. "I was the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemists 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."Sen. Brown shared data that showed 110,000 Americans lost their lives to accidental drug overdoses in 2022.

Jelly Roll noted that the average of 190 people who overdose and die each day in the U.S. is the same as a full 737 plane crashing daily. He said the country has neglected the growing drug problem because of its view of addiction.

"Could you imagine the national media attention it would get if they were reporting that a plane was crashing every single day and killing 190 people? But because it's 190 drug addicts, we don't feel that way," he said. "Because America has been known to bully and shame drug addicts, instead of dealing and trying to understand what the actual root of the problem is with that."

He mentioned that the crisis has impacted many of his friends and relatives, and urged Congress to pass the FEND OFF Act before it is too late.

"It is time for us to be proactive and not reactive," he said. "We were reactive with crack, we were reactive with opioids, and y'all are taking the first step at somebody in the Senate finally being proactive. I truly believe in my heart that this bill can help stop the supply of fentanyl."