On January 11th, 2024, famous American rapper known as Jelly Roll made a plea to Congress in support of a new bill that would help the fentanyl crisis affecting our nation (Santucci). Jelly Roll is a new artist that just recently rose to fame. He is known for being a country rapper with face tattoos. Jelly Roll’s most popular songs are a collab with country artist Lainey Wilson, called “Save Me” and “Need a Favor.” Jelly Roll has made his struggle with addiction public as well as having been a drug dealer in his past. He now devotes his time to music and advocacy for drug addiction (Santucci).
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S.” (“Fentanyl Facts”). Fentanyl is being laced into other drugs on the market as a way of starting an addiction so that there are more users and more profit. However, the CDC states that in the U.S., “Over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl”, thus creating a drug epidemic.
Jelly Roll approached the podium in Congress with determination. He acknowledged his mistakes by saying he was “once part of the problem” but now “wants to be part of the solution” (Vargas).
He said: “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” (Vargas).
“I’ve attended more funerals than I care to share with y’all,” the musician, told the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee. “I could sit here and cry for days about the caskets I’ve carried of people I love dearly, deeply in my soul. Good people, not just drug addicts. Uncles, friends, cousins, normal people” (Vargas).
Jelly Roll was fighting for Congress to approve the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence Off Fentanyl Act. According to the article “Country Star Jelly Roll Makes Emotional Plea to Congress for Anti-Fentanyl Law,” the Act “proposes to implement sanctions and anti-money laundering strategies to curb the flow of the potent synthetic opioid, which generally comes into the US after being manufactured in Mexico using Chinese precursor chemicals.”
Jelly Roll’s efforts did not go unnoticed. People all around America are talking about the fentanyl crisis more and Jelly Roll is being acknowledged for his powerful message. No act has been approved yet, but the Congresspeople are working on its approval. In Rolling Stone’s article by Tomas Mier and Ilana Woldenberg, Jelly Roll says “Every Senator in America” has called since he spoke to Congress about addiction. Jelly Roll’s voice has truly impacted our nation.
Watch Jelly Roll’s powerful speech to Congress here:
https://youtu.be/6gPvSMw6g2U?si=dR9AfhjIqvdyV5DK
Works Cited
CBS News. “Jelly Roll Speaks at Senate Fentanyl Hearing, Says He Wants to Help Solve Crisis.” YouTube, 11 Jan. 2024, youtu.be/6gPvSMw6g2U?si=dR9AfhjIqvdyV5DK. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.
“Fentanyl Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 20 Sept. 2021, www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl/index.html.
Mier, Tomás, and Ilana Woldenberg. “Jelly Roll Says ‘Every Senator in America’ Has Called since He Spoke to Congress about Addiction.” Rolling Stone, 3 Feb. 2024, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jelly-roll-every-senator-in-america-has-called-since-congress-addiction-speech-1234959884/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.
Santucci, Jeanine. “Jelly Roll Urged Congress to Crack down on Fentanyl. That’s Harder than It Sounds.” USA TODAY, 13 Jan. 2024, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/13/jelly-roll-urged-congress-to-crack-down-on-fentanyl-what-experts-say/72205957007/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024.
Vargas, Ramon Antonio. “Country Star Jelly Roll Makes Emotional Plea to Congress for Anti-Fentanyl Law.” The Guardian, 13 Jan. 2024, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/13/jelly-roll-anti-fentanyl-bill-congress.
